Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart
by HollowedHearts
Summary: After a short-lived break from action, Sora, Riku and Kairi are called for by King Mickey. With a new companion by their side, the team is off to other worlds, some familiar and some new. A/N: First fic, but I'm goin for a long one.
1. Prologue

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Prologue

When the heart is consumed by darkness, a creature known as a Heartless is born. If the person whose heart is lost has a strong enough will, another creature is born. The hollowed body, controlled by the soul, becomes what is known as a Nobody. But what binds the heart to the body? Whatever it is, it cannot take on its own shape when the heart and body are separated… at least by itself.

In rare cases, these mysterious bindings may meet with those of others. When enough of these bindings join together, the strongest person's bindings may manifest into human shape. These beings are known as Essence Links.

Essence Links are low in population, due to the rarity of these unions. These oddities can feel, just as we complete beings can, but these warped emotions only increase their level of threat. They feel that they only exist to complete others, and are drawn by the desire to be true beings. Unlike the Heartless, who instinctively seek out hearts with no true intention, or the Nobodies, who wish to complete themselves through collecting hearts, Essence Links have come up with one belief.

_If they are the only ones in existence, then they must be the truly complete._

In a dark dimension, opposite ours, the few of these beings have gathered and plan to carry out this twisted crusade.


	2. Home at Last & The Message

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 1: Home at Last/ The Message

The two were falling. That was all they knew. The two streaks fell from the sky like meteorites, landing in the ocean below. The crash upon the ocean caused a red-haired girl to look up from her thoughts. She saw what she had been waiting for on that beach of Destiny Islands for what seemed like hours. Along the horizon of the setting sun were two boys. One with spiky, brown hair and eyes as blue as the ocean in which he landed. The second boy, about a year older, was pale and green-eyed with long silver hair.

"Sora! Riku!" the girl shouted, catching their attention.

With smiles on their faces the two swam toward shore. Before they could leave the water, the younger boy, Sora, was tackled by a short, blue-clad duck and a dog-man wearing green. The silver-haired Riku was simultaneously met by a mouse dressed in red.

Released from the combined hugging forces of Donald Duck and Goofy, Sora looked up to the girl, Kairi. He looked up with a grin, to which she returned. At the same time, through their eyes, two others, Roxas and Naminé, did the same.

'_It's time to return it'_, Sora thought, taking out a seashell charm.

'_My lucky charm'_, Kairi's smile grew.

"We're back", Sora said, his goofy grin even larger.

"You're home", the red-head replied.

Sora then took hold of Kairi's hand, returning the lucky charm she had lent to him one year before. He was suddenly pulled to his feet and embraced by the girl he had longed to see for so long. However, they were completely oblivious to the fact that they were like that for several minutes.

"Home", Riku said to no one in particular, taking in the nostalgic atmosphere. The two other teenagers turned to look at their friend, the same feelings filling them. Then the red-clad mouse stepped forward.

"I'm happy for you three," Mickey Mouse, king of Disney Castle smiled at the islanders, "Now it's time for us to go home as well."

"How do we do that without a Gummi ship, your majesty?" Donald questioned his old friend and king. Mickey thought for a minute. Then he snapped his fingers with a smile.

"With this!" He withdrew a multi-colored sphere from his pocket. "It's an emergency portal to the castle just in case we ever have gummi trouble." Sora's mood shifted to sadness.

"Wait a second", he frowned, "Will we ever see you guys again?" Goofy's face brightened.

"Gawrsh Sora, of course ya will!" the knight replied, "And even if we don't meet again, we'll always have each other right here", he pointed to the right side of his chest. Frustrated, Donald moved Goofy's hand to the left side of his torso, now over his heart. Everyone laughed at the duo's antics. It was true; they could never forget each other. After goodbyes were exchanged, Mickey crushed the colorful orb in his hands. The particles floated into the air and formed a portal, which began to lift the king, mage, and knight slowly into the air. Waving as they went the three disappeared into the portal.

**1 week since returning home…**

Sora, Riku, and Kairi were reunited, back on their island home. The word of their endeavors had spread among Destiny Islands, and although people now looked at them differently, Sora and Riku had eased back into the island life. They enjoyed relaxing after nearly two years of battle. When it came to sparring though, they still jumped to it. It wasn't as fun as it used to be, however. Tidus and Wakka were more like punching bags than sparring partners now, although Tidus had improved greatly, now using a real sword. Kairi would watch them completely dominate those two during their spars, knowing even she could probably beat them now. After all, even if you're an amateur like herself, you still have a Keyblade. Sora wielded the Kingdom Key; Riku held the Way to Dawn and Kairi wielded the Destiny's Embrace.

Keyblades didn't help them in one case though. Out of all the great danger the three had been through, they had faced their greatest challenge during their first day back on the islands. Parents. All of their parents were angry and confused about their surprise departure, but they were still happy about their return, and proud of the heroics they performed.

Even after seven days, Sora's head was still ringing from his mom's rant about his 'disappearing act', as she had called it. He understood why she was so mad. Sora's dad died when he was little, and then he, her only child, went missing for well over a year. To help ignore the headache, he decided to go hang out with Riku.

"Nothings changed, huh?" asked Riku, sitting on the oddly shaped paopu tree, the usual hangout.

"Nope. Nothing will," replied Sora.

"What a small world," the silver-haired teen continued.

"But part of one that's much bigger", his friend added.

"Yeah", Riku agreed.

"Hey Riku… what do you think it was; The door to the light?"

"This," answered Riku, getting off the tree and pointing to Sora's heart, "It's always closer than you think."

"Sora! Riku!" yelled Kairi, running across the bridge, something in her hand. She stopped to take a breath, before holding up a glass bottle. "Look." Sora looked at the paper that was held inside and spotted a black insignia on it, made up of three circles.

"From the King?" the Keyblade master asked no one in particular. He then emptied the bottle of its contents and opened it for all three of them to read, also releasing a multi-colored orb, similar to the one the King had used to get back to Disney Castle.

_Dear Sora, Riku, and Kairi,_

_I know it's only been about week since you got back home, but there's trouble brewin' and the three of you are needed. I need you to meet Donald, Goofy and me at the Postern in Radiant Garden. When you're good and ready, just crush the portal-sphere and you'll be taken straight to the Market Place. We need to discuss very important matters._

_Can't wait to see ya,_

_King Mickey Mouse _

"The three of us", Kairi processed, "That means I'm coming too!" She was flat out giddy about risking her life to save the worlds. This made Sora kind of uneasy. Riku wasn't all too sure either.

"Hey, Kairi-"

"Don't even think about protesting, Sora", the red head interrupted the brunette.

"Kairi, he's just concerned about you", Riku said.

"I know it's dangerous, but the three of us are a packaged-deal here".

Knowing they were fighting a losing battle, the guys went to pack what they needed and inform their parents of what the King had ordered. Kairi did the same of course, although she was more cheery, having been the winner of their little dispute. About an hour later, they were all standing on the beach. After taking in the sound of the waves and the last breaths of the island air they would have for quite a while, they stood close together as Sora withdrew the portal-sphere from his pocket.

"Before we go, let's make a promise," The spiky-haired brunette looked at his friends.

"Alright, go for it," Riku responded coolly. Kairi nodded in agreement.

"No matter what, we'll all make it back home on Destiny Islands," Sora swore. His friends agreed whole-heartedly with smiles and nods.

"And we come back together," Kairi added.

"Yeah, no separation this time," Sora confirmed, "Are you guys ready?"

"Duh, of course," Riku smirked.

"Whenever you are," Kairi said.

"Then let's go." Sora crushed it in his hands, opening a portal above them. They were then slowly lifted from the ground and into the vortex above.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong> (which will later be added to Jiminy's Journal)

**Characters Introduced**: Sora; Riku; Kairi; King Mickey Mouse; Donald Duck; Goofy; Roxas; Naminé

**Worlds Introduced: **Destiny Islands


	3. Will

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 2: Will

**/Radiant Garden/**

"Time to restock", a young man spoke in a low voice. He was 16 years old and clad in black, in contrast to his pale skin. He wore a black vest over a black T-shirt, which matched his black jeans, belt, and boots. His entire right arm was wrapped in a white bandage, and dark red, fingerless gloves were worn on his hands. His near-shoulder-length dark hair blew in the soft breeze, revealing his heterochromatic eyes. His right one was violet and his left one red. What truly stood out though was the sheathed two-handed sword he had strapped to his back. An old burlap sack in hand, the boy entered town, a large, dark shape in tow.

He approached the entrance of a small food market. A bell rang above the door as he pushed it open. This was one of his favorite places to snag his supplies from. Business was poor, especially at this time of day, and the lazy clerk would almost _always_ take a break and get a cup of coffee.

'_At least I don't have any interference', _the thief thought to himself. He knew stealing wasn't a good way to go, but he'd only take what he needed. He gathered essentials such as water, bread, and fruit. He also snagged a good amount of uncooked meat. He may live in a cave but he kept a cooler and could make fire. The teenage thief took a large amount of his favorite food, apples. He loved the differences in taste of the different cultivars. Another reason he loved this place was because of their large variety of the fruit. He took a few of each.

"Golden Delicious, Fuji, Royal Gala, Red Delicious, Spartan, Granny Smith, Banora White (1), Cripps Pink, Cameo, Paula Red, Pink Pearl, Empire, Jazz, Honeycrisp, Bottle Greening, Baldwin," the boy muttered the cultivars' names to himself as he took from their respective bins (2).

With his sack full and thrown over his shoulder, he exited the store. He only took a few steps before he had a gun to his head. He wasn't surprised at all. With his senses, he'd known the officer was waiting for him before his bag was even full. He was quite notorious with the authorities. They didn't really know anything about him, not his name or where he came from. All they knew is what he looked like, and even that was kind of sketchy due to his certain 'talents'.

"I'm afraid you've finally been caught, son", the member of the RGPD (Radiant Garden Police Department) taunted. "I've heard about your little magic tricks so don't think you'll catch me off guard. After all, in this position, it doesn't matter how fast you are," The man laughed in triumph. Said laughter stopped after a ferocious, threatening growl came from behind. The cop twisted his head to see the dark shape that had followed the young man. A pitch-black wolf, teeth bared, was staring him down with golden eyes.

"Call him off", the officer ordered, fear in his voice. The bandit mentally smirked, and in one swift movement, the terrified cop was on the ground. In surprise, the cop fired his gun, launching a bullet straight through the teenage thief's left arm.

"Ow", the young man mocked in a nonchalant tone, unfazed. Even as he mocked the man he didn't crack the slightest of grins, just like always. The police officer fainted as the boy's wound closed. "Next time, don't be so confident about knowing what I can do" the mysterious thief said, his voice still emotionless. "Let's go Thorn", he turned to the wolf. With a gruff exhale the wolf named Thorn followed.

"Wait a sec", a new voice called. The dark-haired boy and his canine companion turned to see a well-known face.

"I don't like to hurt good people, Leon." He told head of the Radiant Garden Restoration Committee, Leon, formerly known as Squall Leonhart, "So just leave and I won't have to".

"I'm not here to fight", Leon retorted, "Don't misunderstand me. I'd love to take you down and lock you up, but I've got orders to give you this," he held out an envelope, "right… Will?"

"I don't know how you know my name, but I'm not interested in any message", Will responded.

"It's critical that you read this", Leon walked up to him and, "Now take it." Will accepted the letter, a bit irritated. Without a word he turned and walked further into town to a more crowded area.

Will was now sitting on a bench by a busy street eating a Red Delicious apple, the sack of food beside him. Next to the bench, Thorn was eating a third tray of raw meat, his muzzle slightly bloody from the uncooked meal. The teen thief was wondering about what the message had said

_Dear Will,_

_I know this is unexpected, but it is of great importance. You need to meet with three friends of mine, about your age, by the postern and wait for me there._

_Their names are Sora, Riku, and Kairi; they're pretty hard to miss. Please come, the fate of all worlds depends on it._

_Signed,_

_King Mickey Mouse _

It sounded important, but it could be a trick. He _had_ gotten it from Leon, the one who had openly said he wanted him behind bars. The postern wasn't really the best place for a known thief to go, but he knew Leon had morals.

'_Leon's not low enough to fake a letter from a king just to catch a thief like me', _Will considered. _'This _is_ a king's request; it's got to be important'. _The boy's thoughts were interrupted when he heard a scream.

"GINGER!"(3) a girl's voice rang out. Both Will and Thorn looked up to see a small Yorkshire terrier chasing a squirrel into the street. The fourteen, or fifteen year-old girl, who Will assumed to be the owner, was paralyzed in place as a car was nearing her pet. The Yorkie froze in place when the approaching vehicle's horn sounded. Suddenly Will was gone from the bench.

The dog owner closed her eyes, unable to watch. She heard tires screech and the crunch of metal. When she opened her eyes, she saw Will standing in front of her terrier, his left hand on the hood of the car, which was now stopped dead with the hood partially crushed in. Nonchalantly taking a bite of the apple he still held in his right hand, Will removed his other hand from the hood of the totaled car. He completely ignored the pain of the hood ornament that had speared through his hand. He removed his left glove and watched as his wound healed, bystanders watching in awe. He licked the blood from the healed hand (not finding it strange, only seeing it as the cleanest way to quickly get it cleaned up) and put his glove back on. He'd have to sew it up later.

Thorn entered the scene and lifted up the stunned Yorkshire terrier by the scruff of her neck in his bloodied muzzle, frightening the owner. She was truly surprised when the black wolf simply approached her and placed the pup in front of her.

"T-Thank you" she managed to stutter. With a gleam of pride in his golden eyes, the melanistic canine returned to his master. The mysterious Will patted his companion's head before looking the Yorkie's owner in the eyes with his unusual ones.

"Be more careful from now on", Will scolded in his normal, emotionless voice, as he grabbed his bag of food and disappeared with Thorn into an alley, taking another bite of his apple. This incident brought him to realization. His abilities could be put to even greater use, saving the worlds, the same way he had saved that little dog.

"We're going to the postern Thorn" The wolf glanced at Will, following the thief.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Journal<span> Entries**

**Characters Introduced:** Will; Thorn; Leon; Ginger; Ginger's Owner

**Worlds Introduced**: Radiant Garden

**Author's Notes**

(1) Yes I worked in the Banora White from Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII

(2) That's not even half of the existing apple cultivars

(3) Generic dog name.


	4. The Postern

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 3: The Postern

A vortex tore open in an alley of the Radiant Garden Market Place. It was about ten feet above the ground. Out of it fell three people, landing in a pile upon the concrete.

"Sora, get your elbow out of my ribs!"

"Shut up Riku, and take your foot away from my face!"

"Sora, that's me."

"That doesn't make it any more comfortable Kairi!"

"Just get up!"

**After the three Keyblade wielders untangled themselves…**

Sora brushed off the dust and dirt on his clothes. He turned to Riku and Kairi who were doing the same.

"So what do we do?" the spiky-haired boy asked, grinning as they left the dark alley.

"We head to the postern like Mickey told us to," Riku responded.

"Classic Riku; straight to the point as always," this earned Sora a thump on the back of his head. Rubbing the sore spot and giving Riku a dirty look, the brunette scanned across the market place. "Man this place looks a lot better than I thought it could in a week." More shops were now open, moogles at the counters. He also saw roads were fixed up and in use.

"Sure looks like good shopping," Kairi smiled. Sora and Riku looked at each other with grim expressions, knowing of the girls shopping habits

"So where's the King?" Kairi wondered curiously. She sat down on one of the benches

"Good question," Sora responded. Riku remained silent. He had a bad feeling.

"Something's coming," Riku warned, summoning the Way to Dawn. Alarmed, the other wielders jumped to their feet. Sora summoned his Kingdom Key, as Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace. Behind Kairi, a shadow rose from the ground.

"Kairi look out!" Sora knocked her out of the way as he struck the Shadow Heartless with his weapon, destroying it. Suddenly, a large swarm of Heartless, made up of Shadows and Neoshadows, materialized. Moogles hid behind the counters of their shops in terror.

"I wasn't expecting this many," Riku commented.

"Don't worry, it could be worse", Sora reassured. As if on cue, a group of Dusk and Samurai Nobodies appeared within the swarm, about doubling the amount. Kairi swallowed hard.

"You were saying," Riku growled. Sora gave a nervous grin. The three of them sprung into the great amount of enemies. As Sora was cutting through a Dusk, he noticed more of the creatures were appearing. A Neoshadow surprised him from behind, but it disappeared in a burst of blue fire. Riku was seen with his hand put out in front of him, the remaining flame of his Dark Firaga attack licking his fingers. With a thumbs-up, he went back to slashing away at the Heartless and Nobodies. After a long fight, the trio was overwhelmed.

"There are too many," Kairi panted, her Keyblade vanishing as she fell on her rear. The remaining enemies had just managed to knock the boys over as well. As they closed in on the Keyblade wielders, two blade-tipped chains cut through them. The chains continued to slice through the air, until no more enemies remained. The one holding the chains was revealed to be a black clad boy of sixteen years with near-shoulder-length black hair, his arm wrapped in a bandage and a two-handed sword strapped to his back. His most prominent feature however, was his heterochromatic eyes. He dropped the chains. Shockingly, the blades at the chains' ends levitated into the air and snaked themselves through two hidden openings on the boy's belt, concealing the chains within it.

The mystery boy approached them and offered a hand to Kairi. Blushing, she took it and was pulled to her feet. Sora and Riku stood up themselves. The boy turned to Sora.

"You Sora?" he addressed in an emotionless voice.

"Yeah," Sora nodded, "and who are you?"

"My name's Will," the youth introduced himself, "I was told by King Mickey Mouse to meet you and your friends here." He held out his hand. Sora took the hand and shook. "Now where is the king?"

"We don't know" Riku walked up to him, "I'm Riku. Thanks for saving us"

"No problem," Will deadpanned. Will's wolf companion, Thorn, came running up behind him, having caught up with his speedy master.

"Look out, behind you!" Kairi shouted to Will, seeing the intimidating black beast. Sora saw what had alarmed his red headed friend and summoned his Keyblade. He jumped toward Thorn—impulsive as always—, bringing the Kingdom Key down to bash the wolf over the head. He was shocked to have his attacked blocked. Between his weapon and the large black canine was the blade of a large sword. It was a Claymore (1), at least 4-feet in length. Looking up he saw Will as the wielder, easily using the two-hander with only his right hand

"If you harm him, your head will be on the floor before you feel the blade on your throat," Will threatened, his impassive voice unchanged. Sora dismissed his blade, now aware that Thorn wasn't an enemy. Will sheathed his claymore as Sora did this. "This is Thorn; he is my friend and companion." He scratched behind the animal's ears as if it was a puppy. "Say hello, Thorn," Will told his companion.

Thorn approached Sora first. He sniffed him thoroughly before growling. Sora's eyes slightly widened.

"He doesn't like you too much," Will informed, "Attacking him on sight wasn't a very good first impression." The black wolf moved over to Riku, repeating the sniffing process. He looked the silver-haired boy in the eyes. Riku stared back, forming a minimal amount of mutual respect between them. Finally, he moved on to Kairi. He sniffed her just as he did the boys. To Kairi's astonishment, Thorn sat down in front of her, wagging his tail, and looking up at her.

"He seems fond of you," Will gathered, "I think he wants you to pet him." Smiling, Kairi did so. After a few seconds of glory, Thorn returned to his master's side.

"So just what exactly can you do?" Riku questioned Will, "It takes strength to lift a large blade like that with one hand, and those chains moved without you touching them."

"Allow me to demonstrate," Will cracked his knuckles, "My abilities include superior agility,-" he dashed away from the trio, visible only as a black blur and leaving a breeze behind. The Keyblade wielders turned to see him leaning against a brick wall. He nonchalantly punched said wall, turning it to rubble. Out of the falling debris he caught a pebble in between his thumb and index finger, "-strength, and reflexes, along with enhanced senses." He continued his demonstration by lifting his claymore from its sheath slightly and cutting his left hand on the partially exposed blade. This earned a sickened expression from Kairi and a confused look from Sora and Riku. The cut bled for a moment before healing, "I also have accelerated healing and limited regeneration."

"Let me guess how you moved those chains," Riku's expression was smug, "You're telekinetic right?" Will shook his head.

"Close," Will said. Riku looked embarrassed, making Sora snicker. Will held his hand in front of him, palm open and facing up, as if gesturing that he wanted something. The three islanders were shocked to see the blood that had leaked from Will's already-healed wound floating from the ground. It rose up until it was floating above Will's hand, forming into a ball, "I can manipulate my own blood, using only my mind," the thief informed before forming the blood into the shape of a needle, "I refer to it as 'Hematokinesis'," he threw the red needle at the ground, where it stabbed into the concrete, sticking up as a metal needle would in soil. The abnormally sharp blood projectile then fell apart, diffusing into its liquid state.

"But, how did that let you move the chains?" Sora inquired. Will brought his right hand to the left side of his waist reaching into one of the hidden openings in his belt. He then whipped out one of his long twin chains. He grabbed the small blade on the end in his free hand and held it up. Sora examined it and couldn't see anything strange about the weapon.

"The blades are made purely of iron taken directly from my blood" Will notified, "It allows me to move the blades, and therefore the entire chains," and with that, he did so, obscuring the chain within his belt once again. An awkward silence fell.

"Now what should we do to kill time while we wait?" Kairi piped up, sitting down on the bench as she had before the heartless and nobodies showed up.

"How about you fill me in on what exactly I've been pulled into," Will suggested, sitting down on the other bench, Thorn sitting beside his side of the bench.

"Well we don't know what's going on this time, but we _can_ tell you what's led up to this," Sora told the violet and red-eyed boy. Then the spiky-haired brunette began to tell Will of all he had been through; from Destiny Islands to Xemnas's defeat. However, he 'forgot to mention' the part where he got on his hands and knees and begged Saïx to let him see Kairi.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character(s) Introduced: **Moogle

**Abilities**: Will's _Blood Needles_

**Command Styles**: Will's _Chainmaster _[Level1]

**Heartless Introduced**: _**Pureblood**_: Shadow, Neoshadow

**Nobodies Introduced**: Dusk, Samurai

**Authors Notes**

(1) An actual claymore. Not that BS piece of crap 'claymore' that Saïx had.

**Extra**: Command Styles and Drives will appear, alongside other transformations (think of Riku's Dark Mode from KH: CoM). In KH-style gameplay they would all share the 'Trans-Gauge' which would be the gauge used by Drive and Shotlocks in the past.

**Extra**: Will only uses the chains while using the Chainmaster Command Style, which is a Level 1 style (like Ven's Fever Pitch in KH: Bbs)


	5. Group Completed

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>_Before the chapter begins, I would like to thank **caitlinkeitorin** for pointing out several grammatical mistakes. They have been corrected now. I feel embaressed since I'm such a grammar Nazi. It only really happens when typing. Feel free to point out any mistakes so I may fix them._

* * *

><p>Chapter 4: Group Completed<p>

After Sora had filled Will in on his adventures prior to their meeting, the postern grew dull. Sora looked around at how his company was killing time. Kairi was filing here nails. Riku was pacing in frustration. Will simply sat quietly, so eerily still that a bird had perched up on his shoulder. Thorn had taken to entertaining himself by staring at Sora, practically burning holes into the Keyblade master with his golden eyes to see how much he could freak him out… and it was working. Unable to stand the boredom any longer, Sora stood up from his seat.

"This. Is. ENDLESS!" the brunette groaned.

"Quit whining," Riku stopped pacing.

"But I can't take it any more," the other boy complained, "Where's King Mickey?"

"You rang?" a new voice chimed. The group, rising to their feet—or paws in Thorn's case, looked toward the stairs that led to the postern. Climbing the final step was Mickey Mouse himself. Beside him were none other than Donald Duck and Goofy. The King, Court Wizard, and Knight Captain advanced toward the others. As soon as he was in range, Goofy grabbed Sora and trapped him in a suffocating embrace.

"Sora, we missed ya so much!" the dog-man cried in a comedic fashion. Donald stomped over and began hitting his friend with his Mage's Staff.

"Let him go ya big palooka, he needs to breathe!" the duck commanded as Sora gasped for air. Goofy let go when he noticed the boy was turning blue.

"It's good to see you too, guys," Sora managed to say, panting between words. Mickey came closer and Sora bowed. "Hello Your Majesty," he greeted.

"No need to be so formal, Sora," the royal mouse told him, "We're friends, just call me Mickey." He turned to the other teenagers, startled to be nose-to-nose with Thorn, who began examining him with said nose.

"Thorn, stop that," Will's blank voice instructed. The wolf did as he was told and backed off. Will came forward and bowed as Sora had. "My apologies, Your Majesty. My friend was curious." He spoke no differently, but formality could be heard in the bandit's voice.

"You must be Will," the monarch guessed. Will nodded in return, "and this fella's a friend of yours?" He gestured to the black canine beside the boy, "Thorn you said?" Will nodded again. Mickey turned his attention now to Riku and Kairi. Kairi curtsied and Riku shook the mouse's hand. "Now that we're all together, I need to tell you guys something." He looked around, "but let's discuss this in the ship."

Now inside Mickey's large gummi ship (complete with ten bedrooms, eight bathrooms, kitchen, and lounge), currently stationed outside Radiant Garden, the group sat around a large table within the lounge. After a short reunion with Jiminy Cricket, everyone's attention was on the king.

"So Mickey, what's going on?" Riku asked.

"And why do you need me?" Will added.

"Yeah, your majesty, you haven't even told _us_," Donald spoke up.

"To answer all your questions…" Mickey paused and looked down, "I don't know."

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character(s) Introduced: **Jiminy Cricket


	6. A New Threat

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 5: A New Threat

_**Mickey Narrating**_

_Flashback_

Present

_**It all started a few days back. It was my first day back at Disney Castle. It was getting late when a strange woman appeared.**_

_A mysterious female figure entered the King's private study. She wore long, lavender robes and a hooded shawl, obscuring her face. Mickey looked up from his important paperwork. In reality he was simply doodling._

"_Who are you?" the monarch demanded, jumping over his desk and summoning his Keyblade, Darkside. The woman raised a hand to the king._

"_I mean no harm," she calmed the Keyblade-wielding mouse, "I have foreseen a dark prophecy in the near future, and I am here to warn you."_

_**She told me that a great danger had risen and it was only a matter of time before it went into action. She told me about Will, and that I would need him for a reason that neither of us were sure of. She also gave me some strange cards.**_

"_Gather the greatest warriors you can find," the supposed-psychic advised, "for even if you survive this, only a greater threat shall rise." She handed Mickey at least a hundred blank cards, reminiscent of tarot cards. "When a worthy warrior is near, the card will react. The Keyblade will do the rest," she continued, "It shall gather all information you may need from within their heart."_

"_How do I know I can trust you?" the King interrogated._

"_That is a good question," the woman responded, "The truth is… you don't. It is your choice whether you wish to take my advice." With that, the mysterious lady turned her back to the mouse and burst into white flames, leaving Disney Castle's King stunned._

_**We can't risk the worlds' safety. We have to do this, even if it's on blind faith.**_

"I recommend we stop to take a few hours to prepare, maybe we could even grab a bite to eat," Mickey said to his stunned party with a cheery voice. Even Will seemed to have a shocked expression. "Well come on let's go." The Keyblade-wielder stepped upon a strange platform and disappeared in a very _Star Trek_ fashion, his confused friends following.

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><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Characters Introduced: **The Oracle


	7. Old Friends: Part One

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 6: Old Friends, Part 1: The Gullwings

Mickey, Donald, and Goofy all went to a few of the shops to collect supplies. At the same time, Sora, Riku, Kairi, Will and Thorn were going to Merlin's house. Mickey had given the latter group ten of the blank cards, knowing most of their friends here were talented fighters.

"You do realize I'm walking into the lion's den, right?" Will gained confused looks as they stood right outside Merlin's home, "I'm a damned thief and this is where Leon, head of the police, likes to hang out."—more confusion—"You idiots, I told you this back at the postern,"

**Flashback…**

"_Interesting story Sora," Will said after being filled in on what he'd been pulled into, "I'm just a thief, living in a cave in the Great Maw. It's not exactly glamorous." The others had gone to their own activities before he'd gotten past "I'm."_

**End Flashback…**

"So what?" Kairi said, "I've met Leon before and he's a considerate guy." Suddenly, Merlin's door was kicked down, falling on Riku and revealing Leon. His Revolver Gunblade was pointed directly at Will. Thorn rolled his golden orbs. _Humans_.

"Don't move!" Leon demanded, "I told you that message delivery was the only time I'd let you off the hook!" He took a swing, pulling the weapon's trigger as it hit Will's left shoulder, knocking him over. Sora and Kairi gasped at the sudden attack.

"Leon, what the hell?" Sora yelled. Then Thorn tackled Leon to the ground, knocking his Gunblade away and pinning him to the ground. Knocking the door off of him, now that Leon's foot wasn't putting pressure on it, Riku stood up. Leon looked toward Sora, ignoring the terrifying black beast keeping him on the ground.

"Sora?" the Gunblade wielder asked, "What are you doing here?"

"Watching you fillet my newest ally!" the spiky-haired teen replied. Will stood up, wound healed.

"Are you okay?" the frightened Kairi squeaked.

"I'm fine," the heterochromatic thief affirmed. He turned his head to his attacker. "So are we going to play nice now?" he mocked, "or will I have to let Thorn decide what happens?"

"Whatever," Leon sighed, "Just get this damn thing off me." Thorn growled once more, due to being called a 'thing', and got off.

"What's going on?" a new voice quipped.

"Yeah I heard a shot," another chimed in. The first voice revealed itself to be a slightly familiar blonde girl in very… revealing clothing. The second was another vaguely familiar brunette girl with a long pigtail going down to about her ankles. Standing with them was a silver-haired girl with crimson red eyes who also seemed familiar to Sora.

"Everything's fine," Leon replied.

"Fine?" Will interjected, "You cut my freaking shoulder open!"

"Hey it's Sora!" said the blonde girl, ignoring the bickering males. Sora looked confused.

"Do I know you?" the three familiar girls looked insulted by Sora's question.

"You're kidding me right?" the silver-haired one hissed.

"How can you not remember us?" the brunette girl added her two-cents. Sora began to fear for his life. It's like they say: "Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned." Even worse, he was dealing with three! "Maybe this will help," the girl continued. The trio struck a familiar pose. The image of three pixie-like beings flashed across Sora's mind.

"Wait, now I remember!" Sora exclaimed, "You're the Gullwings; Yuna, Rikku-"

"What is it?" Riku popped up.

"Not you," the spikey-haired boy told him, before clearing his throat. "Now where was I?" he paused, "Oh right, and you're Paine!" he pointed to the silver-haired girl.

"Took you long enough," she muttered.

"That's us," Yuna clarified.

"You got that right-" Rikku stopped, "Wait… The cute one has the same name as me?" she shouted, pointing at Riku. Riku turned red and Kairi giggled.

"But what happened to you three?" Sora asked.

"Well this is what we normally look like" Paine said, "We had trouble with a faulty dressphere and got stuck as little fairies."

"We were pretty cute though!" her peppy blonde friend added.

"Dressphere?" Kairi piped up.

"Yeah," Yuna replied, "They're a lot like that Drive thing that Sora can do." she informed, "We change our clothes, weapons, and abilities by using them in a Garment Grid, which works sort of like Sora's Drive clothes." The now-more-educated Sora turned to Leon.

"Hey, where are the others?" the Keyblade master asked. Leon thought for a second, quitting his argument with Will.

"Merlin went to visit his home world for a while," he began, "and the others are probably at Tifa's new bar."

"Tifa has a bar?" Sora asked. Leon nodded, "So we can't go since we're underage…"

"Well, it's technically a 'bar and restaurant', so you can go there." he told the light wielder, "It's called 'The 7th Heaven.' You should check it out."

"Uh… okay," Sora decided.

"But before _we all_ go," Rikku cut in, "introduce us to your friends," she gestured to Riku, Kairi, and Will, leaving Thorn feeling left out.

"I'm Riku," the darkness wielder introduced himself.

"And I'm Kairi," the princess of heart added. The Gullwings' attention turned to Will.

"Will," the thief said blankly. Thorn whimpered, "and this is my friend, Thorn," the canine's ears perked up. Suddenly Will only saw green eyes, a distinct spiral in each.

"Yunie look!" Rikku pointed to Will's eyes, "He has Heterochromia like you!" She paused to inspect him once more, "interesting colors too," the blonde referenced to Will's violet and red eyes. Indeed, Yuna was heterochromatic as well. Her left eye was blue and her right one was green.

"Your eyes are quite intriguing as well," the guinea pig of Rikku's examination commented, "Green eyes with a spiral in each," he said, "A trait of the Al Bhed, correct?" Rikku nodded with a smile.

"My cousin Yuna, here, is half Al Bhed too," the Gullwings member noted, gesturing to Yuna.

"Are we just gonna sit here talking about eyes or are we gonna go see the others?" Sora complained.

"Sora's right, let's go," Yuna agreed.

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><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character(s) Introduced: **Yuna, Rikku, Paine


	8. Old Friends: Part Two

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 7: Old Friends, Part 2: The Bar

Sora and co. walked through the entrance of the 7th Heaven, Will and Paine trailing farthest behind, being the more withdrawn two. They looked around to see Cid, Aerith, Yuffie, and a new face; a bulked up, dark-skinned man with a metal hand sitting at the only occupied table. Behind the counter, Tifa was cleaning out glasses with Cloud being shockingly helpful. They all looked up to see Sora.

"Sora!" Yuffie stood up, hyperactive as usual.

"How's it goin', kid?" Cid Highwind greeted, smoking his eternally-lit cigarette.

"Hello," Aerith said quietly, a smile on her face.

"Hey there," Tifa waved. Cloud simply gave them a look of acknowledgement. Then Tifa saw Thorn. "I'm afraid we don't allow dogs."

"Good to know," Will replied, "Thorn's a wolf." The man with the metal hand stood up and walked toward Sora.

"So, you're the famous Sora?" said the large figure, "The name's Barret," he extended his metal hand, "Put her there." Sora did and suffered the most painful handshake of his life. That's when Barret saw Will's eyes. "Wait… those weird eyes… You're the thief that Leon's been lookin' for!" Barret's metal hand suddenly turned into a sort of hi-tech gun… which he used to shoot Will… with rapid fire. Somehow Will managed to stay standing.

"Why do people keep doing that lately?" The super-powered bandit sighed, healing, surprising everyone even more than they already were. The only sound for a moment was Tifa dropping a glass.

**After sorting things out about Will being off the hook…**

"Now Barret, what did we learn?" Tifa spoke like a mother scolding a child.

"Get the whole story before opening fire on someone with a deadly weapon," Barret sighed. Will's clothes had been fixed up by Aerith, no longer were they full of bullet holes.

"Sooooo," Yuffie began. She, Yuna, Rikku, and Kairi were now sitting at another table, "that Will guy is pretty cute, huh?"

"Yeah," Rikku agreed, "though I'd prefer someone who's a bit chattier."

"I agree," Yuna voiced her opinion. Kairi just sat and listened.

"Well something about the whole 'dark and mysterious' attitude just makes me crazy (1)," Yuffie simply continued rambling.

Meanwhile, Will was leaning against the wall beside Paine. He was watching Sora and Riku trying to beat Tifa in an arm wrestling contest, and failing miserably. Eventually, Tifa accidently slammed Riku through the table.

"I'm surrounded by idiots," the heterochromatic boy sighed. Paine turned her head in his direction.

"You're alright," she told him.

**With Mickey, Donald, and Goofy…**

"So we've got fuel," Mickey held a notepad, with a supply list written down.

"Check," Donald replied.

"Hi-Potions."

"Check."

"First-Aid Kit."

"Check."

"Food."

"Check."

"Soap and Shampoo."

"Double Check."

"Mouth Wash."

"Check."

"Season Two of Gilmore Girls?" the King read, confused. Donald snatched the pad away.

"How did that get there?" he smiled nervously, "We've got everything so let's just go."

"Okay, but should we really make Goofy carry everything?" Mickey looked back to see Goofy carrying a tower of supplies.

"He's fine," Donald assured his old friend, "He's the Captain of the Royal Knights, after all."

"Yeah, Yer Majesty, I'm fine," the dog-man nearly tripped as he said this, luckily not dropping the supplies, "absolutely fine!"

**With Sora and co….**

'_Time for the moment of truth,' _Sora thought to himself, holding one of the blank cards that Mickey had given him. He held it up toward Cloud. _'Work, work, work,' _he chanted in his head. To his surprise, the card pulsed with light, as did several others. A light came from the left side of Cloud's chest—right where his heart was. However, no one seemed to see it, nor did several of them notice lights on their own chests. Suddenly, everything faded away around Sora. The boy found himself standing in darkness. The cards floated into the air. A heart appeared slightly beneath the cards and closer to Sora. Sora instinctively summoned his Keyblade and pointed it toward the cards. A beam of light shot from the tip of the Kingdom Key. It traveled through the heart and into the cards.

In a flash of light, Sora found himself back at the Seventh Heaven.

'_Whoa_,' Sora thought. He stared at the cards, which were no longer blank. Now on one of the rectangles was Cloud, holding his complete, un-bandaged Fusion Sword (2). Within a heart beside him was Tifa, _'Cool!' _An image of Leon, wielding his Revolver, had formed on another card. Beside him, in a heart, was a black-haired woman with caramel highlights (3). No one had seen the actually event but Sora, since he alone had done it. Tifa was on a card as well. Cloud was in the heart next to her. Barret's image, his hand in gun-form appeared on one; however, no heart was next to him. Yuffie had appeared on another card, Shuriken in hand. On another was Yuna holding her Tiny Bee Pistols. A card of a dagger-blade-wielding Rikku had been created as well. Finally, was Paine, wielding her large sword.

"Isn't this an invasion of privacy?" Sora inquired out loud. Though they had seen nothing happen, a strange feeling had caused Sora's party to gather around him, peaking at the cards.

"Well it looks like we've got everyone we need here." Will collected all the tarot card-like objects from Sora suddenly and put them in his right pocket, not caring how the cards had changed. That was when something incredibly unexpected happened. A large *bang* was heard. Alarmed, everyone in the bar ran outside. In front of them were a slightly singed Mickey, Donald, and Goofy. Standing before them was a man in a white robe, resembling a white version of the attire worn by Organization XIII's members. On the chest area was a strange symbol. It was a double helix, standing vertically, but the ends met to form a heart at each end. Not visible to the group was another symbol on the back(4). The man pulled down his hood, revealing tan skin, gold eyes, and long silver hair. Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, and Goofy were in shock. Riku was definitely the most horrified.

"Xehanort?"

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character(s) Introduced:** Cloud Strife, Tifa Lockhart, Barret Wallace, Yuffie Kisaragi, Cid Highwind, Aerith Gainsborough,

**Author's Notes**

(1) *cough-Vincent-cough*

(2) The sword that Cloud uses in Final Fantasy VII: Advent Children

(3) Rinoa

(4) The Phoenician letter, Dalet


	9. Delta

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 8: Delta

"Xehanort?" Riku's eyes grew wide. The man before him was, indeed, nearly identical to the Xehanort, bearing a closer resemblance to his nobody, Xemnas. His eyes however were unlike any incarnation of Xehanort they had ever met. The sclera of his eyes was black. The man's mouth became a twisted smile.

"Why hello Riku, Sora." the Xehanort look-alike said, "It's nice to finally meet you in person." Hate in his green eyes, Riku charge toward him, summoning the Way to Dawn. He swung his blade at the man, but his attack was stopped by a weapon resembling one of Xemnas's Ethereal Blades (1), however it was black instead of red, as was the other one that he nearly cut off Riku's head with. Luckily, Mickey interrupted the strike with his Pearl attack.

"Just what are you?" the King demanded, pointing Darkside at his enemy, "We defeated both Xehanort's Heartless _and_ Nobody," The white-robed man laughed.

"My name is Delta," he announced, "I am Xehanort's Essence Link,"

"An Essence _what_?' Sora questioned, confused as the rest of his friends.

"An Essence Link," Delta answered, "I am born from the bindings that kept Xehanort's heart connected to his body, which manifested with the bindings of others who had lost their hearts. As the strongest, I was the one who gained my own form"

"Oh, yeah?" Donald squawked, "Then how come we've never seen any?"

"It's very simple." the Essence Link began, "Due to numerous bindings being required to create a single Essence Link, and the rarity of enough of them to come together, we are few in numbers," he informed, "but it doesn't matter, our strength is great enough that we together as the Bound Legion, will destroy everything." His voice was turning mad, yet retaining an evilly calm tone. "No longer shall we only be an adhesive for the heart and body, but the truly complete!"

"You're insane." Cloud insulted, his Fusion Sword drawn.

"You can say that again." Leon followed up, Gunblade rested on his shoulder.

"What exactly is the Bound Legion?" Kairi asked.

"The Bound Legion is the worlds' downfall, a great alliance of Essence Links." Delta responded, "Including me; it is made of exactly twenty Essence Links."

"And I assume you're their leader?" Riku spat. Xehanort's Essence Link let out a sinister chuckle.

"Are you joking?" he shot back, "My master's strength is great enough to crush me under his heel," the Essence Link claimed. "I'm ranked only as the fourth strongest of the Legion!"

"You're kidding…" Sora said wide-eyed. The boy shook his head, snapping himself out of his shocked trance, "It doesn't matter!" he exclaimed, summoning the Kingdom Key, "We'll take down you, your leader, and the rest of the Bound Legion!"

"You've got that right!" Riku took his fighting stance.

"Don't forget me," Kairi summoned her Destiny's Embrace.

"Or us," Mickey added, referring to himself, Donald, who'd summoned his Mage's Staff, and Goofy, his Knight Shield in hand.

"Hey, you called me in to fight, so I'll fight," Will drew his Claymore. Thorn stood by his side, snarling with bared teeth.

"We're with you all the way!" As Rikku yelled to the Keyblade bearers, she grasped her dagger-blades. Yuna pulled out her Tiny Bee Pistols and Paine prepared her sword. Yuffie grabbed her large shuriken, Barret's hand took to its gun form, and Tifa put on her gloves, taking a stance.

"Hmph." uttered Delta, "This isn't very fair, now is it?" The Essence Link opened a dark corridor and strutted through it.

"Come back you coward!" Riku followed Delta in pursuit, but was foiled as the portal closed. Gritting his teeth, he dismissed the Way to Dawn. The others sheathed/dismissed their weapons as well. Sora approached Riku and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry, we'll get him," he consoled his friend.

"At least we know what this great threat is now." King Mickey looked to the bright side. "We should probably get goin'!" the mouse turned toward the residents of Radiant Garden, "Sorry we gotta cut things short."

"It's fine your Majesty." Aerith told him in her usual calming voice.

"Well if ya see anything strange, just give us a holler." Mickey smiled.

"Don't worry. We will." Leon responded, "Oh, and Will," the black-haired boy to whom he spoke looked toward him, "I'll catch you one day."

"Sorry, Leon," Will replied, the slightest sign of a smirk on his features, "but I'm afraid I'll always be the one that got away." Sora, Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, Will, and Thorn all turned to leave, waving as they went.

"Sora," Sora paused and turned back to face Leon, "take this with you. It's of no use to me." the one formerly known as Squall tossed something to the Keyblade master. The brunette saw it was a charm with a picture of a pick on it.

"Thanks!" He grinned

"Come on Sora!" Goofy's voice called, "We gotta get goin',"

"I'm coming!" Sora spun around to head to the ship.

Meanwhile, Will was on a super-speedy run to his home in the Great Maw. He entered, grabbing what appeared to be a large suit case.

_'Can't forget these,' _the black-haired teen thought to himself. He easily lifted the massive luggage with only a single hand. He took off as a blur, not worn down at all by the weight of the case, back to the King's large Gummi ship.

Atop the castle within Radiant Garden, another mysterious hooded figure, wearing a white cloak like Delta, but with a different symbol (2) on his back, watched Sora and co. boarding the Gummi ship. Behind him, a dark corridor opened. Delta exited the black mass.

"Master, I am sorry, but I was outnumbered." Xehanort's Essence Link apologized, "Please forgive my failure." He kneeled before the other Essence Link.

"Think nothing of it," the unknown male responded. "Success was not required in this encounter." Delta was confused by his enigmatic leader. "Beta would've slaughtered you anyway if you killed any of them before he got his chance at Riku," the white-cloaked Essence Link said. "Return to base now, Delta. I will be along shortly."

"Yes sir." The subordinate followed the orders he was given. Another portal opened. Delta walked through the darkness, back to the Essence Links' base of unknown location. The leader of the Bound Legion looked back down to the ship. He focused his sight on Sora, who was talking and laughing with Kairi.

"Sora, 'Hero of the Light,'" the Essence Link (3) clenched his fist, "you will die by my hand."

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character(s) Introduced: **Delta; The Mysterious Leader

**Item(s) Obtained**: Pick Charm

**Author's Notes**

(1) LIGHT SABERS

(2) Phoenician letter, Aleph

(3) I SO overused this term in this chapter

**Extra:** I'd like to note a few of the FF characters have had a change in appearance.

-Cloud: His hair has grown out again. No longer wears the single long sleeve. His Fusion Swords are unbandaged

-Barret: His hair is the same as in Final Fantasy VII, but his outfit and hand appear as they did in_ Advent Children_.

-Yuffie: _Dirge of Cerberus_ outfit

-Leon: Several elements of his _Dissidia_ look have been added. His shirt is now a drooping V-neck. His jeans now have fur ruffles on them. He now has a sash partially covering his right leg and a lion's head belt buckle.


	10. On the Gummi: Rooms and Decisions

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 9: On the Gummi: Rooms and Decisions

**Authors Note: "On the Gummi" segments will usually be short & used for idiotic humor**

Everyone had boarded the large ship and Will had given the used cards to the King, Sora giving back the blank ones they had left over. Now they were deciding who got which room, and which world to check out first.

"Why should you get the room with the bathroom attached?" Riku argued.

"I need it because I'm the only girl on this ship! I have needs!" Kairi shot back. They had been arguing over this from the minute they found out about the room. Everyone else was trying to block it out in the lounge. No one knew where Thorn was. He was probably hiding somewhere.

"Oh yeah?" Riku challenged. "How about we race for it?"

"Fine!" Kairi agreed. "First one to the room gets it!" Both of them readied themselves for the run to the room at the other side of the ship. Kairi dragged Sora in front of them, in between the spots where they stood. He held up a handkerchief, in place of a flag, a bored expression on his face. He let out a sigh.

"Ready...Set...Go," he said this in a tone that was even more bored than his expression implied. When he finished Riku and Kairi took off, neck-and-neck at first, but Riku soon took the lead. He snickered to himself. The silver-haired Keyblade wielder made his way across the ship, Kairi trailing a decent way behind him. He turned the final corner before the room's entrance. He was surprised to meet Thorn sitting in front of the room's open door, a low growl sounding from his throat. The growling stopped when Riku took a step back.

"Thorn, ya gotta move, I need to get in there." He stepped toward the entrance again. Thorn showed his teeth, the growling started again. A step back and he stopped. Riku tried again, Thorn repeated the action. The darkness wielder continued to do this several more times, only to be thwarted each time by the black wolf's threatening gestures. Kairi eventually caught up, the canine only looking up and wagging his tail. She easily strolled past the melanistic animal.

"Ha!" The red-headed Keyblade wielder mocked Riku as she did this. She now stood opposite him from inside the room. "Good boy." she praised Thorn as she petted him. "I win." Kairi said smugly, sitting back on the bed and sticking her tongue out at Riku. Her friend stormed off toward the lounge so they could hear King Mickey's decision on what to do next. Thorn followed, his business done there. Kairi went to follow, but stopped outside the door as it closed. She assumed Riku might try convincing everyone that he won and have them let him take the room, so she turned around. Her magic was one of her stronger points, so she could easily do what she wanted to do in this situation. The Princess of Heart formed a Fire spell at the end of her index finger and began to engrave her name on the door. After marking the room as her own, she headed to the lounge.

"Now that we're all here, I'd like to inform all of you of my decision." the King of Disney Castle announced to his party, gaining their attention, "I've decided that, for now, we should all just go to bed and let the ship take care of things. Autopilot will keep us from going too far out of known territory and out of harm's way." the mouse continued, "We will land in the world closest to us when we awake, agreed?"

"Sounds like a plan." Riku decided.

"No complaints here." Kairi smiled.

"Great idea Your Majesty," Donald complimented.

"What Donald said. Ahyuck!" Goofy agreed.

"A bit careless, but alright." Will gave his opinion. His canine companion gave a 'whuff' of agreement.

"Well then it's settled!" Sora exclaimed.

"Well then I'll see you guys in the morning." Mickey turned to head to his bedroom. Everyone headed to their respective bedrooms. As Will turned to leave for his, his suit case opened by mistake, spilling numerous deadly objects all over the floor, the case still filled with many more. It seemed to have similar magic properties to Merlin's bag, as the numerous items couldn't normally fit inside. Everyone looked pretty disturbed. Sora looked down to see weapons such as a Halberd, Targe, Machete, Dirk, and a Long Sword.

"Oops," Will said simply, collecting the weapons up and storing them back inside the case. "What?" he asked as he saw everyone staring. "It's a collection of sorts." With that, he and Thorn left for their room, Thorn tired out and ready to sleep at Will's feet (1). Everyone else in the room shook the experience off and headed to their rooms.

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><p><strong>Author's Notes<strong>

(1) I was thinking of giving Thorn his own room as a joke, but decided against it


	11. Dive into the Heart

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 10: Dive into the Heart

Sora lay in his bed, wide-awake, the day's events in mind.

'_Essence Links? Bound Legion? What's happening?' _he thought to himself.

"_Are you joking?_ _My master's strength is great enough to crush me under his heel." _Delta's words played in the boy's head over and over again, _"I'm ranked only as the fourth strongest of the Legion!"_

'_Only the fourth…' _Sora continued to think._ 'How can there be Essence Links stronger than Xehanort's?' _he wondered. His next thought sent shivers down his spine._ 'Just how strong is the leader?'_

'…_And what about Will?' _His thoughts moved on._ 'Can I trust him?' _he worried._ 'I mean, he carries a huge sword and hidden chains. His best friend is a big black wolf. He dresses totally in black, controls his blood with his mind, and I saw those tons of weapons!' _the Keyblade master listed._ 'What if he hurts someone? …What if he hurts Kairi?'_

Sora eventually faded into slumber. While he expected his usual dreams, involving swimming pools filled with pudding or beating the crap out of Xemnas while Kairi cheered him on or maybe even that nightmare with George Bush (1) and the crocodiles, he was instead standing on a stained-glass pillar. He recognized it as the Awakening. He'd first been there when he fought against a Darkside, before the Heartless attacked Destiny Islands. The second time, he had fought against Roxas. However, he saw the image that he hadn't noticed on the Awakening Station during the latter time. Instead of one of the Princesses of Heart, he was portrayed, his eyes closed. Why was he here?

"Wow, a visitor. It's been a long time since I've had one of those." Sora turned around to see the speaker. Standing there was Roxas, no longer wearing his Organization XIII garb. "If you're keeping me in here at least give me a TV or something."

"Roxas?" Sora was quite shocked.

"Who else lives inside your heart (2)?" his Nobody asked rhetorically.

"What are you doing here?" Sora asked, "And for that matter, what am _I_ doing here?"

"You didn't think I just vanished did you?" Roxas mocked.

"No," the brunette lied. "Could you just tell me why I'm here?" He changed the subject. Roxas nodded.

"It probably has something to do with that," the blonde answered, pointing to his right. Sora's eyes followed to see a taller, larger Awakening Station. There was a transparent staircase, like the ones that had connected the Stations portraying Cinderella, Aurora, Snow White, and Belle. It led straight up to the colossal tower.

"What is that?" Sora inquired.

"That's what I'd like to know," his counterpart replied. "It only showed up about five minutes before you did." Roxas took one experimental step onto the staircase to see if it was definitely solid. He began cautiously ascending up the stair case. As he did this, Sora suddenly charged up next to him, climbing the steps quickly and without a care, "Hey wait up!" Roxas called after him, picking up his pace.

Sora reached the top of the enormous stained-glass pillar and gazed across the glass surface. Roxas arrived at the top at nearly the same time as Sora, pausing at the end of the final step. The Keyblade wielders looked out in awe at the great image portrayed on the Station's climax. In the center stood Sora, Kingdom Key in hand. On his right was Riku holding his Way to Dawn. To his left was Kairi with her Destiny's Embrace. Roxas and Naminé seemed to hover above. Roxas held the Oblivion in his right hand and Oathkeeper in his left. Naminé held a white Keyblade unknown to the boys. Its guard was an upside-down heart, its white blade had white chains twisted around it, and the teeth were two of the cards from Castle Oblivion. Its keychain, partially obscured, was a white crayon. Sitting below the trio was Will, Claymore drawn. A heart surrounded the entire group. In the crevice between the two divided ends at the top of the Heart was a small circle with King Mickey, wielding the Darkside, inside. On the spaces to the left and right of the heart's bottom were two more circles, holding Donald and Goofy respectively within, weapons drawn. The ring around the edges of the surface was filled with a pattern of a symbol made of the outlines of two Kingdom Key's crossing each other in an X shape.

'_Thorn would feel left out.'_ Sora thought briefly, remembering the wolf's depression when not being introduced with the rest of the group. He returned to the matter at hand.

"Whaddya think this is?" Sora asked his Nobody.

"I'm not all-knowing, Sora; I don't know everything about this stuff. In fact, the only Station that ever connects with yours is Kairi's when you're together so I can see Naminé," Roxas explained. Kairi did have her own Awakening during the week they had been home, so of course she'd have a Station. Where else would Naminé stay anyway?

"Beautiful isn't it," a male voice chimed. The two boys twisted their bodies in the direction of the voice. They saw a figure, dressed in the robes which Delta had worn with his back facing them. A symbol, different from the one on the back of Delta's robe, was on his back (3), "But beauty, like everything else, must be eliminated,"

Sora and Roxas jumped back and summoned their Keyblades as they saw the new person.

"You're from the Bound Legion aren't you?" Sora was still on guard as he spoke.

"I see we've got a genius on our hands," the figure darkly joked. He turned to meet the Kingdom Key, launched forward from Sora's hand in the form of _Strike Raid_. The Essence Link waved his hand, casting a Reflega spell that sent the Keyblade back at Sora. "Now, that wasn't very kind of you," the Essence Link mocked as the Keyblade struck its wielder with much force, knocking him over and leaving him completely disarmed. Roxas was about to make a move, but suddenly the cloaked being flickered right past him.

"Don't underestimate the Legion," the male threatened, pressing his foot lightly on Sora's throat. "It'll be the death of you." Roxas attempted to intervene, but he was knocked down by a Blizzaga fired by the Legion member, slightly freezing his side.

"Sora, you're a great disappointment," the caster insulted the Keyblade master. "I've seen enough, as have you." A large corridor of darkness opened. The Essence Link turned to enter the portal. "I'll let you live for now, Sora, but don't expect any mercy next time. I recommend you get stronger." The Legion Member then vanished into the dark corridor. Sora could see Roxas, half-frozen, on the floor a small distance away. Before the teen could call out to check on his Nobody, he blacked out.

**Journal Entries**

**Limit Breaks:** Sora's _Strike Raid_

**Author's Notes:**

(1) Don't ask how Bush fits into KH, I just wanted to write that.

(2) Oh, Roxas. Such an ironic thing to say.

(3) This is the Leader again.


	12. Maleficent's New Crew

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 11: Maleficent's New Crew

Images of those on Mickey's ship flashed across Maleficent's crystal ball. She'd managed to take over Organization XIII's old stronghold, The Castle That Never Was, and covered it in her signature thorns.

"So, those fools have taken action once again," said the witch, "No matter. We can work around them."

"Do you really think so?" the portly Pete asked, "'Cause now they got two more brats, Mickey, that kid with the creepy eyes, and that big freaky dog!"

"Silence, Pete," Maleficent commanded.

"Yeah, shut up!" agreed Maleficent's new lackey, the Phantom Blot. Several others stood around the pedestal.

"No worries," said a round man with an odd mustache. "With the Heartless and my genius, they'll soon be nothing but dust."

"Don't underestimate them. They can be quite a threat," a large cat stated.

"More like an annoyance," a small rodent commented.

"They will be no problem," a man who stank of old fish and salt water claimed. "We should be more concerned about these Essence Link fellows."

"Puh-lease, they're just a bunch of losers," a sack of insects said.

"I think that wolf there would make a good throw-rug," a muscled hunter decided, spaced out from the evil plotting around him.

"Kingdom Hearts shall be ours," said a short ruler.

"Enough talk," Maleficent told her group. "All of you get out there and do what you can to destroy these children, but spare the girl. We need all of the seven princesses." They'd better not blow this like her last alliance.

* * *

><p>Dr. Eggman- A genius, yet dim-witted scientist with a grudge against a hedgehog.<p>

Scrax- The Nobody of Scar.

Dr. Hamsterveil- An evil genius gerbil who thinks he's a hamster.

Davy Jones- The pirate captain of the Flying Dutchman and collector of souls.

Oogie Boogie- A burlap sack filled with bugs, who has been taken down _twice _by Sora and co.

Gaston- A self-centered hunter, who'd kill even a newborn bear cub if it crossed his path.

Lord Farquaad- A pint-sized ruler who makes up for his size with cruelty.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Characters Introduced: **Maleficent, Pete, the Phantom Blot, Scrax, Oogie Boogie, Gaston, Dr. Ivo "Eggman" Robotnik, Dr. Hamsterveil, Davy Jones, Lord Farquaad

**Worlds Introduced: **The World That Never Was


	13. The Beast Within

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 12: The Beast Within

Sora had woken up from his visit to the Awakening and had told everyone about it. Everyone's worry of the Legion grew after learning of this. Sora, having seen that Station, had decided Will could be trusted… for now. This couldn't stop them from doing their job.

"So, Mickey, what's the closest world?" Riku asked. The King read the world scanner.

"It says we're at Beast's Castle." the mouse replied.

"Cool, I wonder how Beast and Belle are doing." Sora said, excited. Riku's face became slightly paler than it already was.

"What's wrong Riku?" Donald questioned.

"The last time I met the Beast I'd kidnapped Belle and wounded him pretty badly," the Keyblader muttered, ashamed.

"Don't worry Riku, you weren't yourself," Kairi tried to cheer her friend up.

"Yeah, Beast'll understand," Goofy added. Riku looked up, expression unchanged.

"I hope you're right," he said.

"We're in range," Mickey called from the control panel.

"Alright, let's go," Sora stepped onto the transporter. Everyone else followed in suit (except for Thorn, who Will wanted to keep safe.)

"Wow," Kairi looked at the castle exterior. Something seemed different about the place. For starters, the sun was out. Yet it seemed as though a shroud of depression had been lifted. The group approached the large structure, Riku attempting to hide behind Kairi. He may be a beast, but the Beast wouldn't hit a girl. Sora grabbed one of the metal rings on the door and knocked a few times. After a minute or two, the door opened to reveal a young man dressed in lavish clothing.

"Sora, Donald, Goofy!" the man greeted in excitement. The three didn't recognize the man. Then they took a closer look. The eyes… The clothes…

"Beast?" The trio shouted in surprise.

"Beast?" everyone else repeated. The man, who may or may not be Beast, laughed.

"I prefer 'Prince Adam', actually," he chuckled.

"What happened to you?" Donald lisped.

"The curse was broken." Adam replied. Belle suddenly appeared beside the Prince.

"What's going on? I heard yelling-" She stopped when she saw who was at the door. Sora waved, "Sora! Come in, come in." He did so, everyone else following. Riku still hid behind Kairi. Adam had an undrawn sword at his side, "Is that Kairi I see?"

"Hey, long time, no see," Kairi greeted her fellow princess. Belle was confused when she saw someone hiding behind the girl's back. Adam became curious as well.

"Um, what's that?" Belle asked.

"Well…" Kairi began. She stepped to the side, answering the question with action. The exposed Riku fell backward in comical fear.

"Is that who I think it is?" Prince Adam asked. Riku sat up.

"I'm sorry! I was confused! It was a rebellious phase!" The boy tried to add on an excuse to his apology. Everyone was watching him plead now.

"Calm down," Belle told the silver-haired Keyblade Wielder, calming him only slightly.

"Sorry about this. Riku's just afraid you might hold a grudge." Mickey entered the situation, "I'm Mickey Mouse, King of Disney Castle and a Keyblade Master. I hope my friend may be forgiven."

"No worries," Adam said to the other member of royalty. "All is forgiven." He extended a hand to Riku. When the boy took it, he was on his feet and shaking hands with the former beast.

"Thank you. I really am sorry." Riku was very relieved. The young man was very ashamed of the things he had done when he worked for Maleficent, but more _relieved_ to be forgiven for them.

"So Adam, has anything strange been going on lately?" Sora asked, only to be interrupted.

"Wait, who is this?" Belle addressed Will's presence.

"I'm Will, now is anything else strange happening?" he reinforced Sora's question.

"Belle's egotistic suitor, Gaston, is quite strange," Adam informed, "but I can't say he's much more than a nuisance."

"I mean Heartless or Nobody-level strange or maybe a guy in a white robe?" Sora detailed.

"Nothing along those lines is here," the prince said.

"I think this qualifies as strange," Will's voice sounded. Everyone looked in his direction.

"Oh dear lord," Belle gasped. An arrow was stuck in Will's shoulder.

"Oh darn, I missed." A pompous voice bellowed through the castle. "I was hoping to get that damned prince."

"Wait, I know that voice," Adam's eyebrows formed a 'V'.

Will ripped the arrow from his shoulder, looking pissed off. A sickening noise came with the action. Even with Will's healing factor, it was shocking to everyone. Belle, not knowing, fainted, Adam, luckily there to catch her.

"Calm down, boy," the voice said, "I told you that I simply missed."

"Gaston, show yourself!" the castle's prince called out, looking around aimlessly. Gaston appeared through a corridor of darkness.

"You called?" As Prince Adam turned around, the hunter threw out his fist, sucker punching the prince. Gaston then caught the unconscious Belle. "Thanks." Adam rose from the floor, drew his sword, and swung toward Gaston. His target simply stepped back, disappearing into another corridor of darkness. A swarm of Armored Knights, Neoshadows, Shadows, and Morning Stars, topped off with a Dark Thorn, appeared.

"Now what do we do? There are tons of them." Kairi asked, Keyblade in hand.

"We fight!" Mickey answered.

"Perfect time to be injured," Will commented, the blood from his wound now floating around him.

"Adam!" Sora shouted. A large group of Shadows were advancing on him.

"Belle," the prince panted. The multiple Shadows pounced, covering him in a pile of black. "BEEEEEEEEEELLE!" Adam cried loudly. His voice faded into a loud roar. A great amount of the Heartless on top of the man was thrown off. From beneath the sea of black, the Beast rose.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Characters Introduced: **Belle, Prince Adam, The Beast

**Worlds Introduced:** Beast's Castle

**Heartless Introduced**: _**Pureblood**_: Dark Thorn; _**Emblem**_: Armored Knight, Morning Star

**Author's Note: **Yeah, Thorn will be more of a supporting character. He'll be used as comic relief of course. :3


	14. The True Beast

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 13: The True Beast

The Beast rose from beneath the pile of Heartless. He brought down his claws on the remaining Shadows that had previously weighed him down.

"Where is he?" the Beast yelled. "Where is Gaston?"

"Before we worry about that, we gotta make it out of here," Sora told the transformed prince as he shot a beam of light from the tip of his Keyblade at a Neoshadow. He then knocked away a Morning Star that was spinning toward the Beast. Beast nodded in acknowledgement before he sprung upon the same Morning Star as it returned for a second attack. A Thundaga spell spread around the main hall, damaging several heartless and destroying some others, including the Morning Star. Sora could tell it was from Donald. Mickey was cutting away a few Neoshadows. Kairi was handling some Shadows. Armored Knights and Morning Stars scattered around them. Will sliced up several of the Heartless with a wave of his blood. He proceeded to speed around and cut up more with his Claymore. Riku, with the help of Donald and Goofy, was taking on the Dark Thorn. Beast's anger toward the Heartless grew with every blow the creatures landed on his comrades.

"**Get out!**" Beast roared. He wrapped his cape around Sora, protecting him from the onslaught of Heartless. They both let out a roar, damaging and/or destroying several of their enemies. The Beast proceeded to pounce up into the air and slam down on the dark creatures several times. At the same time, Sora dashed around, attacking numerous Heartless.

"**Light!**" Sora stood back-to-back with the Beast. Beast put his hand on the boy's shoulder. Sora nodded and released a great amount of light as he and Beast let out a ground-shaking roar. As the light died down, only the Dark Thorn stood. Beast rushed it, about to bring his claws down on the monster. The Dark Thorn grabbed the prince's hands in its own and began to push him back with great force. The Beast was able to overpower it and throw the black creature to the ground. It stood back up, only to be struck by Riku's Way to Dawn. Goofy followed up, bashing his shield into the Heartless from the side.

"Fire!" Kairi hit the creature with a Firaga. Donald and Sora both fired their own Firaga attacks as a follow-up. Will slashed at the legs of the Heartless with his sword, knocking it down before Riku fired down on it with Dark Aura. The Beast finished the Dark Thorn off by pouncing upon it. After several swipes of his claws, the Dark Thorn dispersed in darkness. He got to his feet and took several deep breaths.

"Adam!" the group heard. The cry had come from outside.

"Belle!" the Beast ran after the source of the voice.

"Hey wait up!" Donald squawked. The party chased after the Beast.

Everyone ran out to the courtyard to find Gaston standing by the door leading to the bridge. He had the now-conscious Belle, hands tied behind her back, in his grasp.

"Gaston, let her go!" the Beast demanded.

"I'm not sure if I should hand over such a lovely lady to a vicious monster," Gaston taunted, "Just like before, the anger and hate within your heart has come to show your true colors, Adam."

"No, that's not true," Beast yelled to the hunter, "Not anger and hate, I'm driven by my determination to save the woman I love. YOU are the only monster I see here!"

"And a pretty stupid one at that," Sora threw in. "If you're kidnapping someone, then you take 'em and run."

"I was considering that," Gaston began in his self-absorbed tone, "but I figured Maleficent would be much more pleased if I brought back _two_ princesses instead of one." He pointed to Kairi.

"Maleficent?" Riku's frustration showed. "I should have known those Nobodies hadn't finished her off."

"So she's after the Princesses of Heart again?" Mickey assumed. Gaston nodded.

"Gawrsh! Not again!" Goofy exclaimed.

"Besides," Gaston continued, pointing to the Beast, "this beast is still breathing."

"Enough talk!" the transformed prince shouted. "Let her go!" Gaston whistled as if calling for a pet. Suddenly, the ground began to tremble. From over the castle wall came a giant Heartless. It had long arms with clawed hands. Its hind limbs were shorter, but several thorn-covered vines sprouted out of them. Its face resembled that of a boar, but had four tusks instead of two. On the middle of its face was the Heartless Emblem. It let out a horrid roar, spewing seeds from its mouth. Once they touched the ground, the seeds instantaneously grew into more thorny vines. Gaston headed toward the bridge to wait for the battle's outcome, intending to catch Kairi once the group was tired out.

"Hey, get back here!" Sora rushed forward, Beast beside him, to pursue the hunter, only to be stopped by one of the Root Boar's (1) hands. Even more vines than they'd seen at first stretched out and whipped around at the group, swatting the Beast and Sora backward. Goofy threw his shield toward the face of the creature, hoping to distract it. One of the vines batted the weapon away before it could touch the Heartless. Donald and Kairi blasted the Root Boar with a joint Blizzaga, freezing several vines. Riku shattered the frozen vines with his Keyblade. The Heartless let a brief cry of pain before swiping with another cluster of vines. Mickey batted away the vines that came toward him with Darkside and hit the Root Boar in one of its eyes. Will cut through a large amount of vines with his Claymore, provoking a swipe of its claws, knocking the whole party backward. During the chaos, Sora had an idea—a good idea for once.

"Adam, how much would you give to save Belle?" the spiky-haired Keyblade wielder turned to the Beast.

"Everything," replied the beastly prince. Sora nodded in response.

"Then grab my hand." The Beast did so. "Drive!" The two were engulfed in light. As it faded, Sora was revealed in a new Drive form. His clothes were now brown and black, a rose outline on each sleeve and leg. The Kingdom Key was gone. Sora now wielded the Divine Rose Keyblade in his right hand, and in his left was the Rumbling Rose. This was his Feral Form. Sora leapt into action, slicing through numerous vines before wildly striking the Root Boar's face repeatedly. He then stabbed each Keyblade into one of its eyes. Then, leaving the Root Boar to the others, Sora sprung from the monster's face to the bridge on the opposite side of the castle wall. In front of him stood Gaston, with Belle still his hostage.

"Nice show, but I'm afraid a change of wardrobe won't stop me," Gaston insulted. He summoned two Sergeants to hold onto Belle. The hunter then drew his sword and lunged at Sora. The boy blocked the blade with the Rumbling Rose. With his free hand, he knocked the man away with his Divine Rose. He then continued to slam the weapons into Gaston. When he found an opening, the man kicked Sora down, giving him space to draw and fire his rifle, narrowly missing the Keyblade wielder.

**Back with the others…**

"Come on!" Goofy's Knight Shield slammed into the Root Boar's snout before coming back to the dog-man in a boomerang motion. A Dark Firaga, Pearl, Blood Needle, and Blizzaga followed from Riku, Mickey, Will, and Donald respectively flew into the monster's face. Donald used Graviga to weigh the Heartless' head down into the ground to give everyone an easy target. Kairi, Riku, and Mickey began striking the creatures large head. Goofy repeatedly bashed his shield on the the Root Boar's snout and struck it several times on the neck. With a final combo to the Heartless' face, Riku finished the Root Boar, causing it to burst, leaving nothing left except the giant pink heart that floated up into the sky. Everyone let out a sigh of relief, relaxing their muscles briefly. However, no one was slacking, and the rescue was back in motion.

"Hurry up! We gotta save Belle!" Kairi called to her friends as she ran toward the bridge.

**On the bridge…**

Sora was dodging bullets that flew toward him. He had to get to Gaston and help Belle. The Drive wouldn't last much longer. Gaston's gun had finally emptied, giving Sora an opening to attack. The Keyblade master slammed the Divine Rose into the hunter's side. Gaston attempted to counter Sora's attack, but the wild combination of dual-wielding strikes kept him off balance.

"Don't underestimate me!" Gaston entered a frenzy of unpracticed sword strikes. Sora took a blow across the chest, causing him to stumble back. The man attempted a finishing blow, thrusting his sword forward. Sora reacted accordingly, parrying with his Divine Rose. The result was Gaston being disarmed, his blade clanging to the ground a small distance away. The narcissist prepared to change back to his gun, hastily reloading. Within that moment, Sora struck him once with each Keyblade.

"This is it!" Sora followed up, lunging forward and impacting Gaston with all of his power. This effectively knocked the wind out of the man, leaving him flat on his back several feet away. Sora was about to finish the battle, leaping into the air and preparing to bring down the Rumbling Rose on Gaston, but the Keyblade disappeared as the brunette's Feral Drive faded. The Beast appeared beside him. In the moment of confusion, Gaston knocked Sora backward, scrambled to recover his lost sword, and stabbed the Beast. The Beast let a roar of agony, falling to the ground as the blade penetrated his skin. The rest of the group ran out on the bridge as the scene unfolded.

"Adam, no!" Belle cried out as she struggled against the Heartless holding her in place.

"Belle..." the fallen beast uttered pathetically. He rose to his feet and struck Gaston with full force, sending him flipping over the side of the bridge.

"NO!" the man's voice faded as he fell into the hazy chasm. Kairi put her hand to her mouth as she gasped. She had never truly thought of the fact that Sora had killed people before, as Beast had just done. Sora destroyed the Sergeants that held Belle with a Thundaga. The released princess ran to her beloved.

"Adam, are you alright?" Belle placed her hand on the Beast's heart as she worried. A light engulfed the hardly conscious beast. The light faded to reveal the human form of Prince Adam, shirt in tatters. It was clear now. The bond between the couple was what gave the prince his strength to become the Beast, and to return to his human form.

"I'm human again?" The wounded prince looked at his human hands. "Ow!" he hissed as Belle inspected his stab-wound.

"Hold still and I'll fix you up," the woman told him.

"I'll handle this." Sora pointed his Keyblade at Adam. "Heal!" In a green aura, the prince's wounds closed from the Curaga spell's effects.

"Thank you, my friends," Adam said in gratitude, Belle helping him to his feet. "I couldn't have stopped Gaston myself." He bowed. As he did this, Mickey's pocket began to glow. The mouse removed the contents of his pocket—a card— and held it up to Adam. Adam's heart glowed. Mickey was standing in darkness. The blank card and heart floated into the air. Mickey summoned Darkside and shot a beam of light through the heart and into the card. Mickey's consciousness returned to the bridge. The prince's image had formed on the card. Behind Adam was the Beast, and beside him was Belle's face within a heart. The world hadn't given them any answers on the Legion, but they'd gained another ally's card and learned of the other threat of Maleficent. It was off to the ship now. Another world waited beyond.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Limit:** Sora and Beast's _Twin Howl_

**Drive:** _Feral form_ w/ Beast

**Heartless Introduced:** _**Emblem:**_Sergeant, Root Boar (NEW)

**Author's Notes**

(1) I hadn't noticed how much it sounded like Root Beer until I'd said it out loud.

**Extra:** Heartless Marked *NEW* are of my own creation

**Extra**: The reason I had Sora ask Beast what he'd give to save Belle was because of the Drive ability's drawback. Sora fears Drive because of Anti-Form, because he has no control over it (which could be why your party disappears in gameplay), but I would say that, because of Roxas rejoining with him, he eliminated the risk. Final Form represents Sora & Roxas rejoining, and also reverted the Anti-Form counter to 0 in KHII, so I'd say he's safe... for the most part Muahahahaha :3


	15. Dreams

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 14: Dreams

"Again?" Sora stood on his Station of Awakening. He'd gone to bed after Mickey gave Riku, Kairi, Will, and himself each five of the blank cards. He had truly hoped for some good rest after Beast's Castle, but his sleep had once again been taken away (sort of). Something tapped his shoulder from behind. He jumped away, taking a combative stance, Keyblade summoned. Roxas stood there, giving him a look.

"Hey," Roxas said nonchalantly. "Could you knock off the posing stuff? It's pretty annoying."

"Stop doing that!" Sora dismissed his weapon. "What happened to you anyway? That Essence Link banged you up pretty bad."

"I'm a manifestation of my separate body inside your heart. Healing isn't too hard for me," his Nobody responded. Roxas looked up at the large, mysterious Station that had appeared only minutes before Sora's previous Dive into the Heart. "If you're back here again, I assume it still involves that thing."

"The last time we went up there, we got our asses handed to us," Sora said. "I'm not sure that's the best idea."

"Just shut up and get up here," a well-known voice called. The spiky-haired teens looked up to the top of the stair case connecting Sora's Station to the larger one. Standing atop the pillar was Riku, looking annoyed.

"Riku?" Sora marched up the stairs, Roxas in tow. "How'd you get here?"

"Easy." Riku pointed to another set of stairs, leading down to another Station. It was his Station, depicting himself surrounded by a nearly-black gray color. The only parts that weren't dark were the images of his loved ones and the outer ring, which was white and filled by a chain of the eyes that were present on Riku's Way to Dawn and his former weapon, Soul Eater. Roxas was a bit on-edge, feeling anger toward the boy that stood before him. This was the same person that helped Ansem the Wise—or DiZ, as he had called himself— lock him up in the Digital Twilight Town before. He was able to contain himself, remembering Ansem's final words, which he'd heard through Sora's ears. He'd said them right before being blown up by the failed Kingdom Hearts Encoder.

"_Sora, the rest is up to you… and Roxas— I doubt you can hear me— but… I am sorry.'_

"Quite the sight, huh?" Riku referred to the image on which they stood, eyeing it with interest. "It definitely didn't sound too impressive when all I had to go on was _your_ description, Sora."

"Hey!" Sora pouted. The pout stopped making people feel bad after he turned 10, so it didn't make much difference.

"Wow." another familiar voice sounded. The new voice was revealed to be Kairi. Naminé stood beside her, "This is really beautiful."

"Yeah, better than anything that I can draw," Naminé added.

"When did you show up?" Riku voiced the added confusion.

"About two seconds ago," Kairi responded. "You guys can be so oblivious sometimes." Everyone looked over to see Kairi's Station linked by another set of stairs. Her Station portrayed herself, surrounded by shades of pink and white. In the solid pink bordering ring was a pattern of Paopu fruits.

"Now, now, let's just settle down," intruded yet another recognizable voice. King Mickey was now on the great Awakening Station. His Station was—surely enough—linked to the large pillar by another transparent staircase.

"You're Majesty?" Naminé asked.

"Well, hello, there Naminé." The mouse king greeted. "Long time, no see."

"Just how many people are gonna show up?" Roxas questioned. "I'm kind of getting overcrowded."

"More importantly, why are we all here?" Sora wondered. Everyone stopped talking, looking puzzled. Mickey, being the clever warrior mouse (1) he was, spoke first.

"Well, think about it," the king began. "We've all got these." Mickey summoned Darkside, holding it out to the others. Following his example Sora summoned the Kingdom Key. Riku called forth the Way to Dawn. Kairi's Destiny's Embrace appeared in her grasp as well. Roxas took out his Oathkeeper and Oblivion in flashes of white and black respectively. Naminé was surprised to have the mysterious white keyblade from the large portrait on the Station they stood upon appear in her hand.

"What's this?" the Nobody asked.

"I betcha' Kairi's ability to use the Keyblade passed on to you as well," Mickey inquired.

"…Chain of Memories." Naminé unconsciously named the weapon, the words floating into her thoughts.

"This is all fascinating and your theory of why we're here is a good one," a blank voice sounded. "However, I'd like to know what I'm doing here." Will stood alone on the edge of the Station, no new staircase in sight.

"Will?" Sora, Riku, and Kairi asked simultaneously. The black-clad boy walked closer to the group. His head turned to the two Nobodies.

"I assume you're Roxas and Naminé," Will addressed the two. The blondes nodded.

"Wait a second…" Kairi looked at Mickey. "Will doesn't have a Keyblade, so our Keyblades can't be the reason we're here. What else could it be, Mickey?"

"**You're wrong."** Everyone looked around for the disembodied voice. In a burst of white flame, a figure in long lavender robes appeared, face obscured by a hooded shawl.

"You!" Mickey exclaimed. The mystery being nodded her head

"You know this person?" Sora asked the monarch.

"Yeah, she's the one who gave me the cards." Indeed it was. The hooded woman before them was the same oracle who had appeared to the King and warned him of the Bound Legion.

"Yes, and I'm glad you've begun making progress," the enigma stated.

"Wait, what did you mean by 'you're wrong'?" Kairi inquired.

"I meant the Keyblade is indeed the reason you have come here," the ominous female replied.

"Didn't you hear her?" Will stepped forward. "I don't have one, nor do I need one."

"I know you lack a Keyblade," the oracle said, "but, that is of no importance."

"What do you mean?" the heterochromatic boy asked the woman.

"Your heart is just as strong as any Keyblade wielder," the strange being claimed. "When you destroy a Heartless, the captive heart is released, as if it was slain with a Keyblade," she continued. "In a way, your heart acts as its own Keyblade."

"My heart is a Keyblade?" Will still spoke blankly as he brought his hand to his heart.

"Basically." The woman confirmed.

"Amazing." Naminé commented

"Why are you here, though?" Roxas questioned suspiciously. The figure turned her back to the group.

"I'm here to tell you just how large the gap between your power and the power of the Legion," the mysterious woman informed. "Even the weakest of the Bound Legion is stronger than Xemnas, and their leader's strength is immeasurable," she continued. "I'm afraid everything you've faced before now has been mere child's play." A dead silence fell over the Awakening.

"Well then we'll just have to fight our hardest," Sora encouraged.

"It isn't that easy," the oracle responded forcefully. "None of you are strong enough to defeat the Legion."

"Well then what are we supposed to do?" Riku demanded.

"You must become stronger" the woman's calm slightly withered, "All of you must push your strengths' limits. Perfect your abilities." She focused on Riku, "Whether it is darkness…" She turned to Kairi, "or light."

"You're telling us all this stuff, but who are you _really_?" Kairi asked.

"It doesn't matter. I'm out of time." the white flames in which the oracle had appeared began to burn on her robes. "Good luck…" with that, the flames swallowed her and she vanished once more. As the flames died, everyone's vision faded to black.

Sora awoke with a groan, his head aching. That seemed to happen whenever he went to the Awakening. A glow was coming from his pocket. He removed the glowing object from his garments, revealing a no-longer-blank card. It portrayed himself, Kingdom Key in hand, with Kairi inside the heart beside him. The strangest thing was the other side of the card. On the back was Roxas, wielding his Oathkeeper and Oblivion with Naminé beside him in a heart.

At the same time, Kairi found herself portrayed on a card in her pocket, holding Destiny's Embrace, with Sora inside the heart beside her. On the side opposite, Kairi was surprised to see Naminé with the Chain of Memories and a heart, holding Roxas, beside her.

Riku, Will, and Mickey also found their own cards. Only Mickey's card had a heart on it. Minnie was inside.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

(1) It's not every day that you meet one of those


	16. Down the Rabbit Hole

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 15: Down the Rabbit Hole

The group dropped into another world, closest to the ship. Thorn stayed on-board the ship to mope. He'd once again fallen into a pouting depression after finding out about the majority of the group, especially Will, meeting the Oracle at the Awakening without him. The fact that Donald and Goofy hadn't gone either didn't make much difference though.

"Ah, Wonderland, how nostalgic," Sora said. Indeed, they had landed in the odd world of Wonderland, which Sora had visited on his first journey. The Bizarre Room clarified this.

"Um, Sora, where are we supposed to go now?" Kairi asked, seeing no alternative exits out of the room other than the door they'd entered through.

"Through there, ahyuck," Goofy pointed to a small opening in the wall.

"Wow, that's one hell of a passage," Riku's voice dripped with sarcasm.

"Just drink this!" Sora swiped a jar of liquid off of the table in the center of the cramped room and held it out to Riku.

"There's no way I'm drinking something you just _found_," his silver-haired friend rejected. Donald took the drink from Sora's hand.

"Oh stop complaining!" the short-fused duck forced Riku's mouth open and poured some of the mysterious liquid down his throat. The Keyblade wielder instantly began to shrink. When he finally stopped minimizing, the silver-haired boy began to angrily shout numerous profanities, but, due to his current size, it was completely incoherent.

"Wow," Kairi commented. Sora grinned and took back the magic drink.

"Bottoms up." He swallowed some of the jar's contents, causing him to shrink as well.

The warriors all stood at equal height now. They began to approach the door when they heard the familiar sound of a Dark Corridor opening. From beneath the structure that seemed to be the Bizarre Room's chimney came an all-too-familiar portly cat and, beside him, a large blob of black.

"Pete?" Sora, Donald, Goofy, and Mickey exclaimed. The fatty feline (1) laughed in his special way.

"That's right!" Pete announced. "Ol' Pete's back and badder than ever!" The black organism beside him slapped him upside the head.

"Be quiet, you fool," it told Pete. If this was an Anime, Sora and co. would have sweat-dropped.

"Who's your friend there Pete?" Sora asked, not intimidated in the least. The two villains' attention moved back to the opposing group.

"That's the Phantom Blot," King Mickey answered, summoning Darkside. "He's one of the greatest criminals I've ever come across."

"Yeah, he's one bad ink blot," Donald added.

"But you locked him away like ya did to Pete, didn't ya, Yer Majesty?" Goofy questioned.

"Yes, he did," the Blot clarified, "but I slipped out through the portal Maleficent used to break Pete out."

"Now, the big, bad Blot's workin' as my partner for Maleficent," Pete informed.

"Lucky me…" the Phantom Blot deadpanned.

"Are you sure you want to pick a fight with all of us?" Will had his sword rested on his shoulder. Maleficent's tubby lackey snapped his fingers and a variety of Heartless appeared. Among them were Large Body's, Shadows, Soldiers, Yellow Operas, Scarlet Tangos, and Emerald Blues.

"That's why we got these," Pete said.

"Now, if you'll excuse us..." the Phantom Blot opened a Corridor of Darkness. "Our work is done here." The dastardly duo (2) entered the portal, leaving the Heartless to fight.

"Get back here!" Donald charged forward, only to be knocked back by the hand of a newly appeared Novashadow.

"It's show time." Riku summoned his Keyblade as the others summoned their weapons. A swarm of shadows leapt toward Sora, only to be cut down by his Keyblade. The Keyblade Master then dodge rolled out of the way of a lightning bolt fired by a Yellow Opera and disposed of the Heartless with Firaga. Goofy tossed his shield like a boomerang, destroying several Emerald Blues and Yellow Operas, only to bounce back when it hit the Novashadow. Kairi fired a Blizzara at some Large Body's. Unfortunately the fat Heartless initiated their charge attack, ignoring the ice and heading toward the caster. Lucky for her, Will dashed in front of her, using his superior strength to stop one of the Heartless with his bare hand, and slicing it and its mobile friends in half with his Claymore. He looked over and nodded. Taking the signal, she shifted her focus to other Heartless. Mickey was currently protecting himself from an Emerald Blues' Aero shield. Donald surrounded himself in his own Aeroga spell, knocking the enemy away by ramming the wind barrier into its shield. Sora destroyed several Shadows and Soldiers as he ran toward the Novashadow. He struck its leg with the Kingdom Key, catching its attention. It attacked him, but was blocked.

'_Time to test this move out,' _Riku thought as he held his hand out toward the Novashadow. "Freeze!" Riku launched a purple, Darkness-infused Blizzaga at the Heartless, hitting it in the chest. He smirked in success as the creature reeled back in the pain of the Dark Blizzaga. Mickey took this opportunity to attack.

"**Gotta win**!" Mickey initiated his _Holy_ limit break, charging beams of light and bringing them down on the enemies from above. Several Heartless attempted to stop him, but were destroyed by the balls of light floating around him. The King then charged up more of his light and brought down a storm of larger beams upon the Novashadow, finishing almost all of the Heartless. Will and Sora cut up a few Shadows and the last remaining Large Body and then the prior struck down a Soldier. Riku took out the final Heartless, an Emerald Blues, with his new Dark Blizzaga.

"Good job," Mickey complimented the group. "Now, let's head through that door. We should look around for any sign of the Bound Legion. You never know where they might be." The group did as he suggested and followed him through the small opening. One thought continued to bother the King, though. _'What were those two doing here?'_

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><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**New Spell: **Dark Blizzaga

**Limit Break:** Mickey's _Holy_

**Heartless Introduced**: _**Pureblood**_: Nova Shadow

_**Emblem**_: Scarlet Tango, Emerald Blues, Yellow Opera, Soldier, Large Body

**Author's Notes**

(1) Yay alliteration!

(2) That term is so old fashion, it's funny

**Extra**: Because Alice has moved on from Wonderland, this world will be used for main-plot development.

**I'm not much of a review whore, but reviews are always appreciated! **


	17. Maleficent's Plotting

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 15.5: Maleficent's Plotting

Maleficent stood alone in what was once the Grey Area, looking out the glass wall. In silence, she stared at the moon that had once been replaced by Kingdom Hearts itself. The silence was broken by the sound of footsteps. The sorceress didn't move an inch as the steps approached.

"So, Pete, Blot," the horned woman addressed her underlings, "I see you've returned empty handed." Pete's ears pointed down in fear. Maleficent's back was to him and the Blot, but he had a feeling that her expression was not a pleased one. The cat tried to speak, but was too skittish to say anything. The Phantom Blot's face—meaning only his white eyes—showed a frustrated mood. He was spooked, and he didn't like that feeling.

"Well…" Pete worked up the courage to talk, "Ya see; that Alice girl ain't in Wonderland no more. We searched high and low for her." The large feline twiddled his fingers s bit. Maleficent hadn't reacted at all.

"It makes sense," the Blot stated. "The girl was clearly a stranger to that world. She must have been returned to her true home world after she was saved by that porcupine-head boy." He explained his theory, but wasn't too confident about Maleficent's acceptance of it. Both henchmen stepped back a bit and stiffened their posture. Maleficent turned around and took a few steps forward. She had a stoic expression on her face.

"Well, that is quite unfortunate." The witch's words were confusing to her minions. Where was the rage? Without all seven Princesses of Heart, Kingdom Hearts could not be opened. Pete's low IQ drove him to stick his foot in his mouth.

"Gee, Maleficent. Ya sure seem to be takin' this in stride." Pete's inquiry made his inky partner feel rather homicidal. Maleficent turned her cloaked back to the duo once more, moving back to her moon-gazing window.

"That is because we are simply dealing with a minor set-back," the villainess replied. "You see, boys, there is always room for substitution." An evil grin spread across her face.

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>I know what you're thinking. "Don't tell me there's a bunch more Princesses." Well, have no fear! That's not quite what this entails. What does Maleficent mean by 'substitution'? You'll just have to read on. Reviews always help me move forward, so I'd appreciate some. HollowedHearts, out. *throws ninja smoke bomb and disappears*


	18. Xi

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 16: Xi

Sora and co. walked through the passage. As they entered the garden-like area between the Bizarre Room and the Court Room, Sora began walking backwards and informing everyone about the Queen of Hearts.

"-And she has these cards that are like soldiers, which can be a pain since they never really quit," he rambled on. Everyone stopped as they reached the Court Room.

"Uh, Sora…" Goofy said, pointing behind the boy, who was still in motion.

"What?" Sora backed into something hard. The Keyblade wielder turned around to see what the object was. His eyes grew wide. "What the…" He had knocked into a card soldier, now petrified in a substance similar to quartz. The substance covered the entire area, petrified cards everywhere. In the judge's seat was the Queen of Hearts, frozen with a look of shock and horror on her face. Even if she was cruel, the expression was painful to look at. Riku kicked a crystalized bush, testing its strength, leaving not even a dent.

"What could have done this?" Kairi inquired.

"That would be me." Dropping from the top of one of the petrified bushes outside of their sights was a female figure in the white robe of the Bound Legion, her back to the protagonists, showing her back symbol (1). Everyone backed up and readied their equipment, as the Essence Link turned around.

"How could you do this?" Sora demanded. The figure's body shook a bit. He could tell she was silently snickering.

"Even if it's one world at a time, everything must be destroyed," the cloaked woman responded in a chilling manner. Sora gripped his Keyblade tighter.

"So which one are you?" Riku asked the Legion member. The Essence Link removed her hood, revealing her face.

"Rank XIV: Xi (2)," she introduced. Her face revealed her youthful appearance, looking about the age of 19 at the oldest. She was pale-skinned with long lavender hair. Toward the end, her hair forked and whipped upward. Her eyes were rosy pink with the same black sclera present in Delta's.

"Well, _Xi,_ you'd better get rid of all this stuff!" Kairi threatened, sadly making her look adorably feisty instead of intimidating, "Or you'll have us to deal with."

"Fine," Xi summoned her weapon. It appeared to be a large baseball bat made of steel, but the thicker part of the bat was more box-like than round, "but let's go somewhere less stuffy." Xi turned and bolted out into the Bizarre Room. The strange crystalline substance began to fill the room at an alarming rate.

"Run for it!" Sora bellowed. The team rushed out to escape. By the time they reached the Bizarre Room they were all breathing heavily, and the passageway was sealed up by the mystery mineral (3).

"That was close," Donald quacked. The party turned their attention to the sound of clapping sound. Xi stood there, her weapon clenched under her arm.

"Bravo," She cheered sarcastically, "I wasn't completely sure you would make it out." The Essence Link then took a combat stance. "Now, we can have an open arena."

"You asked for it." Sora rushed forward. Xi slammed her Hammer-Bat on the floor, raising a wave of stalagmites made of meta-quartz (**A/N:** I'll just call it that from now on) from the ground toward the spiky-haired boy. Sora was, luckily, only knocked back by the attack.

"Sora!" Kairi ran to help him. Xi slammed her weapon down again, this time raising a single large pillar, sending both Sora and Kairi through the air.

"You're done." Xi sprung into the air toward the two. She prepared to bring down her Hammer-Bat. In desperation, Sora grabbed onto Kairi.

"Defend!" Sora managed to cast Reflega, making a shield around both of them. His Essence Link opponent grinned as she smashed the shield with her bat. Completely vulnerable to what could now be a fatal strike, Sora shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable when he heard metal collide. He opened his eyes to see Will blocking Xi's assault with his sword. Sora then fell to the ground, Kairi with him. Will was forced down as well, but quicker do to the force of the woman attacking him. He was able to land on his feet, still clashing weapons. The heterochromatic teen pushed Xi away and went for a slash on her side, only to be blocked by meta-quartz. He looked for the cause to see the tip of Xi's Hammer-Bat had hit the ground. In that moment, Xi struck Will's leg, causing a fractured bone at least. Riku rushed forward with the Way to Dawn, only to be knocked backwards by a wall of meta-quartz. Mickey followed up by shooting a light beam from his Keyblade. The wall grew more, blocking the beam and forming a large barrier around Xi, Sora, Kairi, and Will. A 3-on-1 match was now in motion.

"Now that we've got our teams decided, you should try this out." Xi hit the ground with her Hammer-Bat's tip, causing a sphere of meta-quartz to pop up from the ground. Like a baseball, Xi hit the object at Kairi, knocking her back.

"Crap!" Sora rushed to Kairi's aid. Xi then hit the ground again, repeating the action, this time striking Will. Sora rushed in for a strike, landing a few blows before being batted back by Xi.

"You'll pay for that!" The wounded Essence Link hit the ground harder than before, making several of the spheres spring from the earth. She proceeded to hit them at the group in rapid succession. Standing up, Kairi cast a light-enhanced Reflect. The Light Shield guarded Kairi and Sora from a hit. Kairi began to Cartwheel (4) around, avoiding damage. Sora and Will blocked them, keeping up a tough guard.

"Here it comes!" Xi slammed the ground, making a basket ball-sized sphere this time. Sora braced himself. The Essence Link fired the projectile.

"Back at ya!" Sora batted the orb back at Xi (5), hitting dead-on, putting her in a daze. While she was stunned, all three warriors landed a few strikes. As soon as she recovered, Xi struck the ground in front of her, making meta-quartz burst from the earth, knocking anyone around her away. The pink-eyed enemy then began swing her Hammer-Bat around for melee attacks, occasionally slamming it into the ground, adding in a wave of meta-quartz stalagmites for added range. Will came in from the side, landed a combo and jumped back, avoiding a counter-attack. Sora took his opportunity and reached into his pocket, taking out the Pick Charm he'd received from Leon.

"**Doc!**" he cried as he threw the charm in the air.

"_Sora!" A spectacled dwarf with a white beard emerged from a lush forest. He ran to Sora's side and took out a pick-axe. "It's off to work we go."_

Sora struck Xi repeatedly while Doc began to spin like a top with his pick-axe, hitting the Essence Link with the mining tool.

"HI-HO~," Doc called out in a musical tone. Six other dwarves answered his call. Doc pointed toward Xi and all of the Seven Dwarves sprung upon her with pick-axes striking quickly in a mining motion. "Goodbye, now." With Doc's farewell, the Seven Dwarves disappeared.

"Damn kids," the injured Xi cursed, stumbling back as the Limit ended. The meta-quartz barrier crumbled away as darkness began to appear around her. "You win this round," the Essence Link said as she retreated. With her departure, the meta-quartz that covered the passage and throne room shattered, freeing the knocked-out cards and their thankfully unconscious queen. The trio dismissed their weapons as the danger receded. Their comrades regrouped with them within moments.

"We'd better split before 'Her Majesty' wakes up," Riku proposed, gesturing to the large opening in the wall. All of the team climbed up on the table, drank the growth potion, and headed back to the Gummi Ship, hoping to get some rest. Lagging behind, Sora walked up beside Will.

"You saved my life," the Keyblade bearer spoke gratefully, "And, more importantly, Kairi's too." He put his hand on the other teen's shoulder. "Thank you."

"Don't mention it." Will retained his emotionless tone, slipping his shoulder out from under Sora's hand, leaving the other boy stumped at the cold behavior.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Characters Introduced:** Queen of Hearts; Card Soldiers; Xi; Doc; Sleepy; Dopey; Grumpy, Bashful; Happy; Sneezy

**New Spell: **Light Shield

**Summon Limit:** Sora and Doc's _Dwarven Demolition_

**Author's Notes**

(1) Phoenician letter, Semekh

(2) Pronounced 'Zai'

(3) More alliteration!

(4) Yes, like Aqua can do in Bbs

(5) This would basically be a Reaction Command. I wanted this to be as much like a boss fight as I can make it (when limited to using words).

**Extra: **I've been going through some personal problems at school. Two idiot guys... *trembles in hate and despair* like I said it's personal. Because of this, I wasn't writing for a while, but things are looking up now. I got a review, LK posted TWO new episodes of Yugioh: The Abridged Series, and I got to switch into a new math class. So, now that I'm in higher spirits, here's a new chapter!


	19. On the Gummi: Will's Sleepless Night

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 17: On the Gummi: Will's Sleepless Night

"_Your heart is as strong as any Keyblade Wielder's."_

"_You saved my life."_

These words played in his head. Will hated it.

'_They make me sound like some kind of hero,' _he thought. _'Bull…" _he sat up. The teen's mind flowed back to the memories of the past.

_**Flash**_

"_Monster," the head of Radiant Garden's orphanage muttered._

_**Flash**_

_Black creatures stormed the world, attacking a young boy and chasing him until he escaped to his cave where a wolf pup awaited._

_**Flash**_

"_Run, young one!" an armored man yelled as he struck a Defender with a Claymore._

_**Flash**_

"_You're a strong boy to survive out here." The same man sat by a camp fire within a cave._

_**Flash**_

"_Here… Protect yourself… Goodbye… my friend…" The man lay bloody, holding out his sword. The boy took the blade, trembling. The youth then looked up and screamed to the sky in anguish._

_**Flash to present**_

'_I'll protect what I can,' _Will came back to his present state of mind, _'but I'll never be anyone's hero.'_

* * *

><p><strong>Author's Note: <strong>Sorry it's so short. And I know the one _**Flash**_ was pretty similar to FFVII: Crisis Core's ending. Sorry about that, I hadn't noticed it at first.


	20. One Talkative Ass

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 18: One Talkative Ass

The ship's occupants had just finished breakfast. Mickey jumped to the control panel, heading to the closest world with Donald helping him navigate. Sora was sitting on one of the Gummi's couches, relaxing before the next stop. Kairi came out of her room, having showered and changed in her own private bathroom. Riku was still having trouble dealing with his loss of the great room she'd taken residence in. Will was busy polishing his Claymore, very proud of the weapon. Goofy followed his example and was now currently waxing his shield. Thorn had a rawhide treat, chewing it in absolute bliss.

"We're approaching another world," Mickey informed the others. Will and Goofy both packed away all cleaning supplies as they listened. Sora came to Mickey's side and read the world scanner.

"Well this is a new one," Sora claimed, "DuLoc."

_**/TRANSITION/**_

The team arrived in the world of DuLoc, now standing in a field of Sunflowers. Kairi inspected one of the tall flowers, taking in the scent.

"Well, I have to say; I like this place so far," the female Keyblade wielder stated, an angelic smile on her face.

"Yeah, it's real' pretty!" Goofy happily agreed.

"I agree," Will spoke up, still sounding emotionless. "It's peaceful." The positive comment earned him strange looks from his allies.

'_Is he…._happy_?'_ Sora wondered.

"…What?" Will responded to the staring. From another part of the field, the party could hear a conversation.

"Ogres are… like onions," a Scottish accented voice said.

"They stink?" guessed a second voice.

"Yes- No!" replied the first.

"Oh, they make you cry?" the second one guessed again.

"No!"

"_Oh_, ya leave 'em out in the sun and they get all brown and start sproutin' little white hairs," this sounded more certain

"NO!" the first one yelled. "Layers! Onions have layers. Ogres have layers."

The group looked through the flowers to see a large green man with antenna-like ears talking with a donkey. Most people would be surprised when they noticed the Donkey was the one talking back, but not Sora. Sora simply approached the two strangers.

"Hey, you guys seen anything weird around here lately?" the brunette Keyblade wielder called out to the two strangers as he came near. The question was quite vague, considering the worlds rather weird occupants. The green man and donkey turned their heads in his direction.

"Go away," the ogre shooed him.

"Come on, Shrek. Give the kid a break," the talking ass at his side spoke up. He looked up at Sora and held up a hoof, as if to shake hands. "Hey, name's Donkey." Sora took the hoof and shook it. The other members of Sora's group converged on the scene. The ogre, Shrek, groaned in frustration.

"Ugh! There's more of 'em?" he complained. Ignoring the swamp-dweller's comment, Donkey proceeded.

"The grumpy, green giant, here, is Shrek," Donkey added. Sora replied with his own introductions.

"I'm Sora," he said first, "and these are Riku, Kairi, Mickey, Donald, Goofy, and Will." The teen pointed to each of his companions. The spiky-haired teen offered a hand to Shrek.

"Yeah, nice to meet ya," Shrek said half-heartedly, refusing his hand.

"So, have you seen anything?" Riku inquired. Shrek and was about to answer when Donkey interrupted him.

"Ya mean those Heartless things that Farquaad's got?" the quadruped answered with another question. "Those things are a real pain in the neck, man. I mean seriously they kept comin' at us when we went-"

"Whoa, whoa, slow down," Riku cut the loud-mouthed donkey off. "So, that's a 'yes'?"

"Aye," Shrek confirmed.

"Who's that Farquaad guy you were talkin' about, though?" Goofy inquired.

"He's the ruler of DuLoc and he dumped a bunch of fairy tale creatures in my swamp," the ogre informed, "and now, since I beat up those Heartless guys, I've got to go on some stupid quest for him to get my swamp back."

"So he's controlling the Heartless?" Will's question was more of a factual statement.

"I bet he's working with Maleficent!" Donald exclaimed.

"Shrek, could you tell us where this Farquaad person is?" Sora requested of the ogre. Shrek thought for a moment before putting on a clever smile.

"I _could_," Shrek claimed, "_but_, only after I get my swamp back."

"Are you kidding?" Donald shouted at Shrek in outrage. The ogre became irritated at the squawking duck.

"See Shrek?" Donkey said, "I'm not the only annoying talking animal out there!"

"Why you-" Goofy grabbed Donald from behind and held his beak shut, muffling the Court Wizard's insults.

"What if we help you get your swamp back?" Kairi asked, "Then will you take us to Farquaad?"

"Sounds reasonable, even to an ogre like me," Shrek replied.

"Then it's settled; we'll help you out," Sora stated. "So, you said something about a quest?" Donkey popped up again.

"Well, ya see, Farquaad wants to become a real king, so now we gotta rescue some princess named Fiona from a fire-breathin' dragon that guards the castle where she's locked up in the middle of a volcano," the donkey explained everything— good and bad—in a fast chatter, leaving most of the group stunned, the only one who wasn't was (surprise) Will, "What?"

"You really can talk a lot, ahyuck," Goofy told him.

"Yeah, it's torture, really," Shrek commented, continuing through the sunflower field. "Are ye comin'?"

"Right behind ya buddy," Donkey answered, he and the others following.

"DON'T call me that," the ogre commanded.

"Hey anybody else like to sing?" Donkey asked.

"ARGH!" Shrek exclaimed in annoyance.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries:<strong>

**Worlds Introduced: **DuLoc

**Characters Introduced: **Shrek; Donkey

**Author's Notes:**

**#1:** I used a lot of word-for-word dialogue from the movie's subtitles, but altered it to meet the story. Because of this, Donkey and Shrek each have their improper speech patterns.

**#2: **I just saw the newest Kingdom Hearts 3D trailer! _**I was thrown into a mind-shattering, orgasmic seizure of excitement and ecstasy!**_ ….so you might want to watch it


	21. Annoying Heartless

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 19: Annoying Heartless

"Uh-oh," Shrek said. Hardly five minutes after leaving the field of sunflowers, Heartless were already attacking. Dire Plants and Fire Plants sprouted around them, teamed with Soldiers and Dark Balls.

"At least it's just small fries," Riku smirked.

"Yeah, just pull some weeds Shrek," Donkey encouraged.

"You're fighting too, just like at the castle," Shrek replied. Donkey's ears went down in fear.

"AH!" the donkey shouted as a Soldier surprised him from behind. In surprise, he kicked his back legs, shockingly defeating the heartless. "Oh yeah! Who's the donkey?" he gloated.

Sora threw his Keyblade several times with his Strike Raid, destroying numerous Heartless. Shrek grabbed a Dire Plant in each hand and uprooted them, killing them. He found them much harder to pull out then most plants, but it wasn't too hard. Riku threw a Dark Barrier around himself, protecting him from a Fire Plant's fire ball. He proceeded to destroy the plant-like Heartless with a Dark Blizzaga. Shrek gripped a Dark Ball and smashed it into the ground. The injured creature of darkness warped away, reappearing behind the ogre, where it was destroyed by a blast of wind from Kairi**. **Donald used Graviga, flattening the Heartless. Will stabbed his sword into the ground where they crept, destroying them. Mickey and Riku both shot a beam of light from their keyblade, taking down a Dark Ball and Soldier. Goofy's Knight Shield cut several Dire and Fire Plants down as it flew through the air. Shrek then grabbed a Soldier by its leg and swung it around, slamming it into others. Donkey flipped into the air and kicked a Dark Ball into the face of a Fire Plant with both of his back hooves (1), defeating them both. All of the Heartless were soon gone, relieving the group.

"Why would Farquaad send those things after us when we're doing what he wants?" Shrek inquired, slightly exhausted.

"He's not, they were here for us," Mickey answered.

"So, he already knows we're here, huh?" Sora commented.

"The heck with it, let's just go," Shrek decided. "I want my swamp back." He continued walking on in their journey. The others followed.

"So," Donkey started talking again, "were ya'll really fightin' with giant keys?"

Meanwhile, Lord Farquaad was staring at an image of a red-haired woman in his recently acquired Magic Mirror. The woman in the picture looked very bored, looking out the window of a stone tower.

"Ah, yes," the miniature ruler said to himself, sipping from a glass. "Princess Fiona…" he placed his beverage down and put on a more serious face. "Mirror!" The princess's image faded away into white smoke, which reformed into a pale, mask-like face.

"Yes, my lord?" the Magic Mirror sighed, clearly disliking the man of whom he had to work for.

"Show me what's left of the Keyblade Master and his companions," Farquaad commanded. With a bored sigh, the face in the mirror dispersed into smoke once more and formed into a sort of live video of Sora and his fellow protagonists. "Well it appears they survived," the man hissed. He then saw Shrek and Donkey. "And with good purpose," he smirked. "I'll just handle them after they help the ogre in retrieving the princess." Farquaad pondered his thoughts for a second. "…but, then again, I could always get more rescuers."

Sora, Shrek, and the others now neared a large mountain.

"That must be the volcano," Shrek pointed out. "Maybe this'll be easier than I thought." As they got closer to the volcano, they could make out a number of small black dots.

"What are they?" Donald asked. When they got closer they saw them clearly. They looked like little black fairies with tiny wands of sorts. They reminded Sora of Tinker Bell in Neverland.

"I think they're Heartless," Kairi answered Donald.

"Are you serious?" Donkey asked doubtfully. "You think they're like those big nasty things back there?" He trotted over to the hovering creatures, putting his face right in front of one of them.

"Donkey, no!" Sora warned.

"Oh calm down, these things are actually kinda cute." He turned his face back, looking at it again. "These things are definitely not- AHHH!" he screamed, jumping out of the way of a giant red beam which the small fairy shot from its wand. "HEARTLESS! HEARTLESS!"

Shrek attempted to grab one of the small creatures, but the Sprite Heartless whisked itself away and blasted him away with the same red beam the other had released.

"Shrek!" Riku yelled, hardly noticing another beam about to be shot at him. He managed to raise a Dark Barrier in time to block it. Then he swung his Keyblade at another Heartless, missing as well. In the blink of an eye, Deserters appeared around them, running at high speed. One stopped and kicked Riku back harshly before going back to randomly sprinting. Another two stopped and kicked Donald and Goofy into Sora, who, unfortunately, landed on Kairi, leaving them in a cluttered mess. Will managed to snatch a Sprite out of the air, crushing it brutally in his hand. Riku blasted a few Dark Firaga's out into the mess of Heartless, managing to kill some, as he saw a few hearts float away, free. Sadly, more Deserters materialized, more sadly, in front of him. He was violently kicked back again. Mickey's agility allowed him to hit a few Heartless, but failed in defeating most of them.

"Gather!" Mickey cried, his Magnega spell pulling most of the Heartless toward him as he stood next to Riku. Riku got to his feet and helped Mickey destroy several of the trapped dark beings. As soon as the spell faded, the Heartless scattered, giving the Keyblade wielders full sight and revealing Shrek, thankfully standing and fighting. They could see Will dashing through and attacking a much larger amount of Deserters, his superior speed allowing him to keep up. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy were apparently much more exhausted than they'd appeared and were still down. Standing over them in protection was, surprisingly, Donkey.

"I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die! I'm gonna die!" he repeated in fear, looking like he'd run any minute, but didn't. Mickey ran over to Donkey.

"Donkey, they'll be okay," Mickey told the talking animal. "Right now, you've gotta fight."

"Um… right," Donkey quivered. He then put on as serious a look as he could, which didn't look too serious. "Right! Let's kick Heartless butt!"

"**Donkey!**" Mickey called. Donkey came to his side. Mickey mounted him (2) like a horse.

"**I am Donkey! Hear me roar**!" Donkey charged around at greater speed than he'd normally achieve, Mickey slashing through the enemies with Darkside all the way as the makeshift steed rammed down more of the Heartless.

"**Ya'll get ready for this**!" Donkey exclaimed. Mickey formed a shield of light formed around the duo. The ass and mouse then sped around even faster and killed the remaining Heartless.

When Mickey dismounted, he saw Donkey faint into the pile of Sora, Kairi, Donald and Goofy, having become exhausted. Riku, Will, and Shrek came up to Mickey.

"Um… Are they going to be alright?" Shrek inquired, showing that he did care about what happened to his non-self-proclaimed friends. Mickey nodded and pointed his Keyblade at their pile of allies.

"Heal!"

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Character's Introduced:** Magic Mirror

**Limit Break:** Sora's _Strike Raid_

**Limit:** Mickey and Donkey's _Charge!_

**Heartless Introduced:**_Pureblood_: Dark Ball; Sprite (NEW)

_Emblem_: Dire Plant; Fire Plant; Deserter

**Author's Notes**

(1) Based on Donkey's _Burro Blast_ attack in the Shrek 2 video game for PS2

(2) You're pretty sick-minded if you need to read this to understand what I mean

**Extra:** I just kind of made this as a sort of 'filler chapter' to introduce some of the minor world-specific plot points, as well as a new Heartless and Limit.

**Extra 2:** Sorry, but this world will have 1 or 2 more chapters. I don't plan to do it with every world though.

**Extra** **3**: Good news and bad news. Good news is I've got a Junior Prom date and a letter from Stanford ;3. Bad news is I have standardized testing, so my updating will be slow due to bided time :(


	22. Rescue Princess Fiona!

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 20: Rescue Princess Fiona!

The group was trekking up the side of the volcano, Donkey muttering a song. Most of the group was up and moving fine, but Kairi, having been on the islands while the others were traveling, therefore not building as much stamina, was lagging and very worn out. When Sora noticed this, he fell behind the others to check up on her.

"Kairi, are you alright? You don't look so good," Sora worried. Kairi forced a smile.

"I'm fine," she panted. "I'm just a little tired." She stopped, leaning forward and putting her hands on her knees. Will, with his enhanced hearing, heard the panting and quickened heart beat and stopped, looking back. Being at the near front, the others looked back as they saw him do this.

"Come on now. We don't have time for rest stops," Shrek urged.

"Just give her a minute," Sora told the green man. He looked back to Kairi. "Can you walk the rest of the way?"

"Of course!" Kairi lied. It was quite an obvious lie, actually.

"Looks like we'll have to do this the old-fashioned way," Sora sighed, crouching down. "Get on my back." Kairi blushed

'_Is he serious?'_ she thought.

"Well, come on," Sora nudged. Kairi complied, cheeks getting redder.

'_He's so sweet'_ she thought to herself as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Whoa you're kinda heavy," Sora blurted as he stood up, a goofy smile on his face. Kairi's mood changed to one of rage.

'_I take that back!'_ She tightened her arms around the boy's neck, strangling him. They were quite the spectacle at the moment.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! That's not what I meant!" the brunette victim choked. The red-headed Princess of Heart loosened her grip, giving him air.

"Just walk!"

Nearing the top of the volcano, a foul stench filled the air.

"Whoa! Shrek! Did you do that?" Donkey accused. "You gotta warn somebody before you just crack one off like that! I mean my mouth was open and everything." Shrek looked over at his chatty sidekick.

"Believe me, Donkey. If it was me, you'd be dead." Most of the group grimaced at that answer.

"Then it was probably Riku," Sora suggested. "He's always had a problem with that, he even did it once when we fought at Hollow Bastion." Kairi giggled at the claim, only making Riku feel more embarrassed.

"It's true," the red-headed girl added, "Back on the islands, if he had a burrito, he'd be toxic."

"Enough about my flatulence problems!" Riku stopped the trip down memory lane. Shrek sniffed the air.

"It wasn't anybody," the ogre stated. "It's just brimstone. We must be getting close"

"Brimstone?" Goofy was confused (Shocking).

"Sulfur," Will clarified, "And a lot of it."

"Yeah, right. Brimstone, sulfur, whatever!" Donkey doubted. "Don't be talkin' about 'It's brimstone'. I know what I smell. It wasn't no brimstone. It didn't come off no stone neither."

Seeing a faint glow, Kairi got off of Sora's back. The group looked over the ledge where the glow originated. Before them was a shocking sight: An old, rickety bridge running above the lava at the top of the volcano, leading to a large castle, isolated from any other way of entry.

"Well… let's get going," Riku hopped over the stone wall, heading toward the ramshackle bridge, no fear in mind. Will, Mickey and Shrek followed in suit. Sora, Kairi, Donald and Goofy hesitated a bit, but followed just the same. Donkey lingered behind, visibly frightened.

"Shrek, you know when ya said ogres have layers?" the beast of burden asked Shrek.

"Aye," he responded nonchalantly.

"Donkeys don't have layers. We wear our fear right out there on our sleeves," the ass informed, a disgusted look on his face as he saw a charred horse skeleton.

"But donkeys don't have sleeves," Shrek mocked.

"You know what I mean," Donkey retorted.

"You can't tell me you're afraid of heights," the ogre sighed.

"No, I'm just a little uncomfortable about being on a rickety bridge over a boiling lake of lava," his hairy companion replied.

"The lava's not what you should be worrying about." Mickey summoned his Keyblade. Wyvern Heartless flew out from the castle, dead-set on the rescuers. A few Tailbunkers even emerged. To make matters worse a Heat Saber and several Fiery Globes emerged from the lava pit. On both ends of the old bridge, Shadows rose from the ground, preparing to cut down the posts holding the bridge up. Mickey jumped from Wyvern to Wyvern and Tailbunker to Tailbunker, destroying the entire aerial force, until he reached the other side, where he vanquished the closest shadows.

"This bridge is our only way across! We need to protect it!" Riku charged the Heat Saber, knocking it down before slicing apart a Shadow. "Donald, stay here with me." He turned to Kairi. "You and Goofy should go help Mickey on the other side."

"Then we'll help Shrek and Donkey save the princess," Sora referred to himself and Will. He, Will, Shrek, Donkey, Kairi, and Goofy charged across the bridge, ignoring all fear. Kairi and Goofy stopped to help Mickey, while the rest headed toward the castle. Kairi grabbed Sora's hand before he moved on.

"Be careful," she told him with worry. Sora grinned at her and nodded before continuing on into the old bastion with the others.

* * *

><p>The castle was creepy and ancient. It featured dusty, weathered flooring with a magma-filled crack here and there. Old stone gargoyles decorated the pillars which kept the bastille standing. Donkey was rambling about not being scared, while the others didn't make much of it. Donkey shouted as he crashed into a skeletal knight, knocking its armor clattering to the ground.<p>

"Donkey, two things, okay?" Shrek put up two fingers. "Shut. Up," he counted. "Now, see if you and Will can find any stairs."

"Stairs? Aren't we looking for the princess?" Sora questioned.

"The princess will be up the stairs in the highest room of the tallest tower," Shrek stated.

"That's pretty exact, isn't it?" Will pointed out.

"I read it in a book once." The ogre put on the helmet and several other pieces of the armor that Donkey had knocked to the ground.

"Cool," Donkey said, "You handle the dragon and I'll handle the stairs," the confident animal strutted off, rambling once more. Will rolled his eyes at his temporary partner's endless chatter about how great he was when it came to stairs.

* * *

><p>After the two opposites had walked far from the others, they came across a large door. The duo entered into another large stone chamber. Donkey continued to walk around randomly, searching for stairs. He stood next to a big opening in the wall, completely oblivious to the giant green eye that opened on the other side. Will, however, became completely aware, drawing his blade.<p>

"Hey, what did I do?" Donkey asked. He turned around with a 'whatever', before coming face-to-eye with the large green orb on the opposite side of the wall. "Uh-oh."

* * *

><p>"Look up there," Sora told Shrek, who he'd been searching with. The trio looked out from where a wall appeared to have once stood, viewing the structure's tallest tower.<p>

"Well, at least we know where the princess is," Shrek said, fixing one of the salvaged armored gloves on his hand.

"Yeah, but where's the-" Sora was cut off.

"DRAGON!" Donkey's voice boomed. The duo turned to see Donkey and Will running from a large, winged, pinkish-red dragon. The gigantic reptile spewed a blast of flame from its mouth, bent on barbequing the two.

"Look out!" Shrek moved the two out of the fire's range, nearly getting scorched as well. Sora threw the Kingdom Key at the mighty beast, attempting Strike Raid, only to have his weapon caught between the dragon's teeth. The dragon then dropped the Keyblade and shot more flames at them. Shrek grabbed Sora and snatched him away from the attack. Donkey ducked, avoiding the dragon's flaming breath, only getting the tip of his tail burned. Will, however, took the searing flames head on. With his healing factor, he was fine, but his clothes were on fire. The clothing was put out though, as he performed a super-speed-augmented stop-drop-and-roll. The boy instantly rushed the scaly beast and stabbed it in the foot. With a cry of pain, the dragon swatted the teen into a wall. It was about to finish the whimpering Donkey when it felt a tugging on its tail. It reared its head to see Shrek and a still-unarmed Sora grasping its tail.

"Got ya!" Shrek exclaimed. Donkey took his chance to run.

"Whoa," Sora gasped as the dragon began to sway its tail. As the monster whipped its tail around, he called the Keyblade back to him, but before he could do anything, he and Shrek were catapulted into the air. Luckily it was in the direction of the tower where the princess hopefully resided. Sadly, the duo ungracefully crashed through the tower's roof, landing them, partially disoriented, in the princess's quarters.

* * *

><p><strong>Back with Donkey…<strong>

The dragon spewed more flames at Donkey, who now stood on a small bridge. Will was barely conscious after hitting the wall. He'd managed to stagger after Donkey, but could only watch as the beast smashed the bridge flooring around the quadruped, leaving the ass isolated on one pillar of stone, surrounded by magma and at the dragon's mercy. The huge reptile growled at its victim.

"Oh, what large teeth you have," Donkey commented in fear, earning only another roar. "I mean, white, sparkling teeth," he 'corrected' himself. "I know you probably hear this all the time from your food, but, you must bleach, 'cause that is one dazzling smile you got there! And do I detect a hint of minty freshness?" the dragon gave much more positive feedback this time, appearing quite flattered, "And you know what else? You're- You're a… girl dragon!" Donkey realized. From a close look the dragon did have a slightly feminine appearance, with thick eye-lashes and what looked like lip stick on the tip of its mouth. "Oh sure! I mean of course you're a girl dragon!" the rambling donkey continued. "You're just reeking of feminine beauty!" The she-dragon then blew smoke, in the shape of a heart, around Donkey, making the chattering animal uncomfortable. Realizing the dragon's new intentions, Donkey turned around in panic. "Shrek!" He cried. The love-struck dragon grabbed him by the tail and began to carry him off to another part of the castle. "No! Shrek! Sora! Will!" the donkey's voice faded. Will attempted to follow, but collapsed. The young man's body fell off the stone ledge before him, into the magma below.

* * *

><p><strong>Sora, Shrek, and Princess Fiona…<strong>

As Sora and Shrek picked themselves up, the princess fixed her appearance, grabbed some flowers, and pretended to be unconscious, posing herself with the flowers held in her hands over her chest. Shrek approached Princess Fiona's bed, Sora behind him, and leaned over the 'sleeping' woman's bed. As his face came closer, Fiona put her lips out as far as possible, preparing for her very own prince to kiss her. However, Shrek, unlike any Prince Charming, grasped her shoulders and shook her awake instead. Sora snickered a bit at the ogre's actions.

"Wake up!" Shrek commanded.

"What?" Fiona asked, shocked and irritated at who she thought was her Prince Charming. She was unable to see the Shrek's face underneath his helmet.

"Are you Princess Fiona?" the armor-clad ogre interrogated.

"I am—awaiting a knight so bold as to rescue me," she claimed dramatically.

"Aw, that's nice," Shrek said in a sweet tone. "Now, let's go!" He turned to leave, expecting her to follow.

"Wait, but, Sir Knight," the princess continued her dramatic speech, sitting up, "This be-ith our first meeting; should it not be a wonderful, romantic moment?"

"Yeah, sorry, lady, there's no time." Shrek yanked her up from the bed.

"Hey, wait. What are you doing?" she objected.

"We need to get out of here quick!" Sora told her.

"Wait…" Fiona was perplexed. "_Two_ knights?" Shrek rammed down the door and rushed out of the tower, pulling Fiona along with Sora and himself. The princess continued to go on about how one of her rescuers should be doing numerous cliché things from old fairy tales. Eventually, Shrek stopped to look around, deciding which direction to go. "Can I at least know the name of my champion?" Princess Fiona requested. She considered Sora's presence. "Champions," she corrected.

"Um… Shrek," Shrek introduced.

"I'm Sora," Sora added.

"Well… Sir Shrek," the princess pulled out a handkerchief. "I pray you will take this as a token of my gratitude."

"Um, thanks," Shrek took the cloth and wiped his face with it and gave it back. Fiona looked disgusted. Grunting could be heard coming from beyond a stone ledge. A hand appeared, grasping the edge of the flooring. Pulling himself up was Will, scorched from flame and magma. He'd managed to land on a small mound of rock, inches from the fiery pit of melted rock.

"Will?" Sora and Shrek said in unison.

"Another one?" Fiona asked no one in particular.

"Donkey's in trouble," the burned hematokinetic informed. He then noticed the princess. "Um, hello princess." A roar, obviously belonging to the dragon, sounded through the building.

"You didn't slay the dragon?" Fiona shouted.

"It's on our to-do list; now let's just go!" Sora responded before they all took off.

"This isn't right!" the woman complained as she was pulled along. "There's only supposed to be one knight, and he's meant to charge in, sword drawn, and banner flying. That's what all the other knights did!"

"Yeah, right before they burst into flame," Shrek added, passing a knight's skeleton.

"Where are you all going?" Fiona asked as the three 'knights' headed in a direction other than the exit.

"Well, I have to save my ass," Shrek replied.

"What kind of knights are you?" the testy princess questioned.

"We're each one of a kind," Sora answered her. Shrek opened the wooden door before them, but only a crack. They could see the great dragon attempting to romance Donkey, currently lighting the chandelier above her.

"There's a _donkey_, too? What's next? A talking duck-wizard?" Fiona whispered, not knowing how ironic her words were. Shrek sneaked up to the balcony and grasped a chain beside him. The ogre swung down from the balcony on the chain, leaving him hanging above the dragon. As the dragon leaned in to kiss Donkey, Shrek pulled on the chain, causing the attached reel to release, dropping him down to where Donkey sat, leaving the dragon to kiss a different type of ass.

"Ew," Sora cringed. The dragon roared in anger. Shrek jumped down and picked up Donkey under his arm. Without Shrek's weight, the chain he had held onto went back upward, sending the chandelier on the opposite end falling down around the dragon's neck. Shrek ran up the stairs, dodging streams of fire. When he reached the door, he grabbed Princess Fiona under his other arm and took off running, Sora and Will close behind.

"Princess!" Donkey shouted with excitement.

"It talks!" Fiona exclaimed.

"Yeah. It's gettin' him to shut up that's the trick," Shrek commented. They all stopped when they came to a pipe-like stone structure which was the only way down from the floor level. With the dragon coming up behind them, Shrek was forced to slide down the structure on his crotch, unfortunately hitting a small notch in the stone. Sora and Will glided down smoothly on their feet. The team weaved through several stone pillars, the dragon chasing them. After being chased through the mess of pillars in several ways, leaving the chain from the chandelier around the dragon's neck criss-crossed throughout the room, Shrek put down his two passengers.

"You guys head for the exit," he ordered.

"We're not leaving you," Sora responded.

"Go!" Reluctantly, Sora left with the lot. Shrek grabbed a sword that was stuck in the ground. "I'll take care of the dragon…" Instead of fighting, like the dramatic pose he took suggested, he stabbed the blade into the point where the dragon's chain intersected several times. The ogre then ran back to the others, sprinting to the exit with them. "Run!" Everything seemed to move in slow motion as the dragon's flames erupted behind them. Hearing the approaching shout, Kairi, Mickey, and Goofy all looked down the passage to see their allies running from the fire-breathing behemoth behind them. As they bolted past, the others knew to run, following them as they ran across the bridge. The fire consumed the Heartless they'd been fighting and proceeded to burn off a section of the bridge, causing what was left of the bridge to become a ladder on the side of the volcano, opposite the castle. Donkey, who was at the front and therefore the top, couldn't grip anything with his hooves and began to fall to the lava, but Shrek, who was the farthest down, caught him by the tail, leaving him upside down. The dragon took flight, ready to continue her pursuit, but the sword Shrek had jammed into the chain caused the chain to get snagged, binding the dragon from leaving the castle. As she landed back by the castle, it roared, and… cried. She was clearly very lonely there.

"Wow," was all Kairi could manage.

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**Characters Introduced:** Princess Fiona; Dragon

**Heartless Introduced: **_Emblem_:Wyvern; Tailbunker; Heat Saber; Fiery Globes

**Author's Notes**

**Extra:** Please excuse my slow uploading rate. High School is a bitch.


	23. Fiona's Secret

**Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart**

**Chapter 21: Fiona's Secret**

After regrouping, everyone had stopped not far from the volcanic palace. Fiona was overjoyed by her rescue.

"You did it!" she exclaimed, "You saved me! You're amazing. You're…" Shrek, Donkey, and Sora all tumbled down the inclined stone wall, the others easily coming down, "a little unorthodox I'll admit," The princess switched back to drama mode, "but thy deed is great and thine heart is pure. I am eternally in your debt."

"Ahem," Donkey cleared his throat, catching Fiona's attention.

"And where would a brave knight be without his noble steed?" she added, petting his face in praise.

"I hope you heard that," Donkey said, "She called me a noble steed. She thinks I'm a steed."

"The battle is won," she turned to Shrek, "You may remove your helmet, good Sir Knight."

"Uh, no," Shrek rejected.

"Why not?" the princess questioned.

"I… have helmet hair," the masked ogre lied.

"Please," Fiona requested, "I would'st look upon the face of my rescuer."

"No, no, you wouldn't-'st," the banter became a sort of show for everyone else.

"But how will you kiss me?" Shrek's eyes grew large at the princess's question.

"This'll be good," Riku whispered. Kairi elbowed him in the side.

"What? That wasn't in the job description," Shrek stammered.

"Maybe it's a perk!" Donkey exclaimed.

"No, it's destiny," Princess Fiona claimed. "Oh, you must know how it goes; a princess locked in a tower beset by a dragon is rescued by a knight and then they share true love's first kiss," she finished dramatically.

"Wait, you think that Shrek is your true love?" Donkey asked, amused.

"Well, yes," she replied. Shrek and Donkey looked at each other for a moment. The two of them, along with Sora, Riku, and Donald fell to the ground in laughter.

"What is so funny?" Fiona demanded.

"Let's just say I'm not your type. Okay?" Shrek responded.

"Of course you are; you're my rescuer," the princess insisted. "Now remove your helmet."

"Look," Shrek began, "I really don't think this is a good idea.

"Just take off the helmet," the argument continued.

"I'm not going to."

"Take it off."

"No!"

"Now!"

"Okay!" Shrek gave in. "Easy. As you command, Your Highness." He removed his helmet, revealing his ogre face. Fiona was shocked, to say the least. Shrek tried to make a charming smile, but failed miserably.

"You're a- an ogre," the princess stuttered.

"Oh, you were expecting Prince Charming," Shrek guessed.

"Well, yes, actually." Fiona broke. "This is all wrong," she sulked. "You're not supposed to be an ogre."

"Ouch," Sora commented.

"Listen, Princess," Shrek sighed. "Lord Farquaad sent me to rescue you, okay? _He_ wants to marry you."

"Well then why didn't he come?" Fiona inquired, "I'm supposed to be rescued by my true love, not an ogre, some kids, animal-people, and their pet."

"Well, so much for noble steed," Donkey huffed, upset by Fiona's reference.

"Gawrsh, you don't have to be so mean about it," Goofy said.

"Could you please do us a favor and come back with us?" Mickey requested.

"I'm sorry, but you can just tell Lord Farquaad that if he wants to rescue me properly, I'll be waiting for him right here." Princess Fiona sat on a large rock, crossing her arms.

"Hey!" Shrek snapped. "I'm no one's messenger boy, all right? I'm a delivery boy." The green man picked the princess up and slung her over his shoulder.

"Put me down!" Fiona demanded, struggling.

"Ya comin', guys?" Shrek asked, ignoring his unwilling passenger's threats and strikes.

"I'm right behind ya," Donkey assured. Sora was about to object to Shrek's forceful approach, but thought it would be much simpler to do things this way. Kairi's thoughts, meanwhile, drifted to what Fiona had said.

"_A princess locked in a tower beset by a dragon is rescued by a knight and then they share true love's first kiss."_

'_Well, I'm a princess, and Sora has rescued me twice,' _the girl pondered. _'I wonder how he feels about me.'_

* * *

><p>Fiona had stopped struggling after a while. She was now talking to Donkey about how he could tell a <em>certain<em> fire-breathing woman that a relationship wouldn't work out. Eventually the group stopped by a pond. Shrek, Sora, and Will used the water to clean ash from Dragon's flames off of their faces. When Fiona asked about Lord Farquaad, Shrek and Donkey simply made jokes about his short stature. As sunset approached, Fiona became frantic.

"I need to find somewhere to camp NOW!" The princess's voice echoed, gaining strange stares from the others.

Settling on a large cliff, Shrek and Will assembled a shelter-for-one out of boulders for Fiona to sleep in.

"I don't think this is fit for a princess," Donkey thought out loud.

"It's fine," Fiona chirped. "It just needs a few homey touches."

"Like what?" Donald asked. The princess ripped a large, thick piece of tree bark from a gargantuan tree.

"A door." She rushed in and blocked the entrance with the makeshift door. Shrek grabbed another boulder and began to drag it toward the entrance, as if to block the door and trap Fiona inside.

"Shrek, what are you doing?" Kairi gasped.

"What? I was just joking." The ogre walked away.

"I'm not." Riku began to push the rock, unable to move it.

* * *

><p><strong>Night…<strong>

While Shrek and Donkey had a little heart-to-heart, watching the stars, Will sat atop the highest boulder that made up Fiona's shelter, gazing at the moon.

"You _do_ know I can hear you, right?" Will spoke to no one within his vision. Sora, who'd been skulking around, climbed up next to Will.

"I never thought of you as the type to stare at the sky at night," the spiky-haired Keyblade Master joked.

"It's calming," the other teen stated blankly. He casually picked up a snake that was creeping close by Sora's leg. "As is the nature around here." The heterochromatic boy placed the reptile on a tree branch, letting the serpent slither away freely.

"Ya know, you're a real softy deep down," Sora teased. Will grabbed his wrist and flung him next to the dying campfire, leaving him unconscious, but unharmed. The former thief dropped down from his sitting-place and walked to the edge of the forest where he had made a bed of sorts. He'd moved a mossy rock to a smooth patch of soil, which he covered in leaves. He'd use the leaves as bedding and the moss on the stone softened it enough to serve as a pillow. He ducked under a branch and stopped at his sleeping space. Lying there was a surprise guest. The Big Bad Wolf, dressed in grandmother's clothing, lay there reading a magazine. The wolf looked up from the article.

"What?" the humanoid wolf said in a male voice, not matching his current attire.

* * *

><p><strong>Day 2 in DuLoc<strong>

Nearing the day's end, the group stopped to camp again. This time, Fiona would sleep in an old abandoned house, while the others were once again outside. The day had gone by quickly. Princess Fiona had felt bad after overhearing Shrek talking about being seen as a monster and decided to start everything over. During their trip they'd encountered Heartless several times, along with the singing Monsieur Hood and his Merry Men. Shrek and Fiona were obviously growing close, doing several repulsing activities that could be considered romantic along the way. The two were peacefully eating fried Weed Rats (Luckily, Will had a stash of apples for the others), but Fiona flew into a panic when Donkey pointed out the setting sun. She made up an excuse and dashed into the old house, leaving everyone else confused. After talking with Donkey about Fiona, Shrek left to 'find more fire wood' and headed toward the sunflower field where Sora and co. first met him.

Later that night, while most of the others slept (Only Kairi, Shrek, Donkey, and Will, who was laying balanced on the roof of the ramshackle house, were still awake), Donkey decided to check up on the princess. Kairi accompanied him, just in case he came too close to invading her privacy.

"Princess?" Donkey called out, receiving no response as he looked around the musty building. "Princess Fiona?"

"Fiona?" Kairi spoke this time, causing a number of bats to take flight and flee from the house.

"Princess, where are you?" Donkey proceeded.

"Hello?" Kairi called again. A creak was heard. The red-head shivered, "It's really creepy in here."

"Yeah, we ain't playing no games." Donkey directed this at the unseen Fiona once more, praying for a response from the woman. Suddenly a scream and crash were heard from behind. Kairi and Donkey turned around to see a figure rise from a cloud of dust. Kairi summoned Destiny's Embrace in case it was hostile.

"Aah!" Donkey screamed.

"Oh, no!" the figure cried.

"No, help!" Donkey called out.

"Who are you?" Kairi asked forcefully. Her question was ignored.

"Shrek! Sora! Anybody!" Donkey continued to flip out.

"No, it's okay, its okay," the figure attempted to calm him. On closer inspection, it was a female ogre, dressed in the same clothing as Princess Fiona.

"Is that…?" Kairi, thinking aloud, trailed off.

"What did you do with the princess?" Donkey was still freaking out.

"Donkey, I'm the princess," the ogre's claim went unheard by the panicking ass (1), who shouted again. "It's me, in this body."

"Oh, my god (2)! You ate the princess!" Donkey yelled. "Can you hear me?" he shouted at the ogre-woman's stomach.

"Donkey!" Kairi attempted to quiet the situation, hitting the animal lightly on the head with her Keyblade.

"Listen, keep breathing!" Donkey continued yelling at the ogre's belly. "I'll get you outta there!" He began to move his head around frantically. "Shrek! Sora! Riku! Will! Mickey!" the ogre woman managed to grasp the bellowing donkey's mouth, silencing him.

"This is me," Fiona's ogre form said. After a moment Donkey relaxed.

"Princess?" the talkative beast of burden gasped, stunned.

"What happened to you?" Kairi asked, dismissing her weapon.

"Yeah, you're…. uh…. uh… different" Donkey couldn't find the truly right words.

"I'm ugly, okay?" The ogre princess turned her back to the Keyblade wielder and four-legged chatterbox.

"Well, yeah," Donkey said bluntly.

"Donkey!" Kairi swatted at him.

"Sorry."

"I've been this way for as long as I can remember," Fiona finally answered.

"Really? Because you definitely didn't look anything like this an hour ago," Kairi pointed out.

"It only happens when the sun goes down," the princess clarified. "_By night one way, by day another. This shall be the norm… until you find true love's first kiss… and then take love's true form._"

"Ah, that's beautiful," Donkey commented. "I didn't know you wrote poetry."

"I don't think it's a poem, Donkey." Kairi put a hand on his head. "Am I right, Fiona?"

"Yes," Fiona nodded. "It's actually a spell," she sighed, looking at her reflection in a barrel of water. "When I was a little girl, a witch cast a spell on me. So, every night, I become _this_; this horrible, ugly beast!" She swatted her mirrored image. "I was put in that tower to wait for my true love to rescue me, so I need to marry Lord Farquaad tomorrow before sunset, and before he sees me… like this," she sobbed, sitting down on the single bed in the house.

"Hey, calm down now," Donkey consoled. "You're not that ugly." He and Kairi sat next to her. "Besides, this only happens at night. Shrek's ugly 24/7."

"But I'm a princess," Fiona wept, "A princess isn't supposed to look like this."

"Well, what if you don't marry Lord Farquaad?" Kairi reasoned.

"I have to," the other princess replied. "It's the only way to break the spell."

"But, ya know," Donkey piped. "You're kind of an ogre."

"And Shrek's kind of an ogre," Kairi caught on. "So you've got a lot in common."

"Shrek?" Fiona questioned.

* * *

><p>Outside the house, Shrek held a sunflower he had picked. He was practicing to talk to Fiona and give her the flower. As he stood in front of the door, he could hear Fiona conversing with Donkey and Kairi.<p>

"I mean, really," Fiona's voice was heard. "Who could ever love a beast so hideous and ugly?" Shrek was crushed by her words, misunderstanding what she was talking about.'''Princess' and 'Ugly' don't go together." Heartbroken, the ogre threw the flower to the ground and wallowed away.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Journal Entries<span>**

**Character's Introduced:** The Big Bad Wolf; Princess Fiona (Ogre)

**Author's Notes**

**(1)** I feel the need to express a 'LOL', in this situation.

**(2)** I would like to note here that when the word 'god' is used here, I was unsure if I should capitalize it. I am _loosely_ Catholic, but I personally believe some divine being set things in motion and left the rest to science (I'm a person of science, not exactly faith). However, because the saying is "Oh, **my** god", it should be addressing the speaker's god (whatever divine entity/entities he or she believes in and worships). In this context, the word 'god' would be simply a term, so I ended up not capitalizing it, like one would do for a diety's name (God, Kali, Shiva, Allah, Chuck Norris, etc.). I wish to point this out so no one of any particular faith gets offended (Although I doubt anyone would verbally assault me over the capitalization, other than a cult leader or suicide bomber, I just want to be sure.)

**Extra #1:** The snippet of Sora-x-Kairi near the beginning is one of many fluffy romance moments. The story is mainly adventure-based, but there will be pairings. They just won't be constantly heavily effective on the story. However, it can affect the plot, like it has before, of course. I'm getting ahead of myself. The point is: this won't be a make-out, lovey-dovey story, but it will contain elements of romance.

**Extra #2:** Sora and Will's interaction during the night was short, but I wanted to show that Sora wants Will to open up. Will, however, is struggling to keep a distance between the others and himself. His past will come to light eventually, of course, but, for now, you can probably tell that he's got his reasons for being a hard-ass.

**Edit Note:** After I recieved the e-mail alert for my usual review by my favorite reader/pseudo-editor **caitlinkeitorin**, I found something odd. By 'odd', I mean the review was too long to be viewed on gmail! I, as a fellow grammar-nazi (in the good way), knew that there could not be THAT many grammatical mistakes after my habitual once-over. After taking a look at the full message on FF, I realized I had uploaded the unchecked version of this chapter! So, here is the properly (this means both my original corrections and **caitlinkeitorin**'s corrections) edited version!


	24. Farquaad

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 22: Farquaad

**Author's Note: I know it's been a while since I posted a chapter, but with a combo of Cape Cod, Six Flags, the midnight premiere of the Amazing Spider-man, and the release of Kingdom Hearts: Dream Drop Distance, I've been occupied. I must say that DDD was amazing, story-wise and gameplay-wise. I was fangasming in a manner that rivaled that of ONE SEXTILLION fangirls. In addition, you can now find a Gaia avatar of Will on my DeviatArt page. The link to my DA is on my author's page, so check it out. Anyway, I'd like to present the latest chapter of Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart. **

* * *

><p>Sora woke to the fanfare of trumpets. He looked around for the sound's source. He quickly came to see a group of knights and one black-haired man on horseback. Everyone was now awake.<p>

"What'd I miss?" Donkey yawned. He yelped and jumped away as the one man's horse nearly stomped on him.

"Who is that?" Donald wondered at Sora's side. Sora shrugged in response

"Princess Fiona," the horse-riding man addressed the princess.

"As promised," a disgruntled Shrek approached him. "Now, hand it over."

"Very well." The unknown man pulled out a scroll of paper. "Here is the deed to your swamp, ogre." He handed it to Shrek.

"So you're Lord Farquaad!" Sora exclaimed. The peeved-looking man, revealed to be Farquaad, turned his head to Sora.

"Yes, I am, Keyblade Master," Farquaad dismissed the boy's words, turning his attention to Fiona. "I'm sorry to have startled you, princess, but, I was startled by your beauty." The lord introduced himself once more.

"Well, Lord Farquaad, it is a great honor to meet you, but I was just saying a short…" Fiona was shocked as Lord Farquuad dismounted, revealing his short stature and the false armored legs on the horse's saddle, "Farewell."

"Ah, no need to waste good manners on the ogre. It doesn't have feelings or anything." Shrek scowled at Farquaad's remark, walking away.

"Hey, shut up shorty. You-" Riku's rant was cut short by Fiona.

"You're right," Fiona agreed. "It doesn't."

"Fiona, how could you say that?" Kairi yelled, awestruck. She was ignored. Shrek frowned in sadness. Lord Farquaad took Fiona's hand and got down on one knee, his short height pulling the princess down too.

"Dear princess, I would like to ask for your hand in marriage," the small man proposed. "Would you be the perfect bride for the perfect groom?" The man's narcissism disgusted Sora's group.

"I'd love to." Sora, Donald, and Goofy were left with hanging jaws. Shrek began to leave the scene completely.

"Perfect!" Farquaad snapped his fingers. One of his knights hoisted him back onto his horse. "We marry tonight!"

"No wait!" A glimmer of hope made Shrek turn back to Fiona. "Why wait? Let's marry as soon as possible—before sunset!" Shrek turned away again, miserable as Fiona was also lifted onto the lord's steed, "Fare-thee-well, ogre," the princess said as the party began to leave for DuLoc, leaving everyone stumped. Donkey chased after Shrek.

"Shrek, what are ya doin'?" Donkey asked. "You're letting her go!"

"Leave me alone!" the ogre shouted. "Go follow her! After all, you're such good pals."

"But Shrek, I wanna go with you!" Donkey objected.

"I told you," Shrek retaliated, "I don't want you coming with me!" Donkey's ears drooped in sadness. The sulking burro turned away from his ex-partner.

"But Shrek-" Sora shouted in protest.

"Stay out of this, Sora," Shrek ordered. "You know where Farquaad is now, so go ahead." Shrek and Donkey both left, splitting up in different directions.

Sora's group stood in the field, shocked at what had just unravelled.

"Why would Shrek and Fiona act like that?" Goofy asked no one in particular.

"They had an argument," Will explained briefly, confusing them all even more. "What? I don't sleep much."

"Well we have to fix this," Mickey stated. "Riku, Will, we'll follow Donkey," Mickey instructed. The addressed nodded. "Sora, you take Kairi, Donald and Goofy with you and follow Shrek."

* * *

><p>"So she was talking about somebody else?" Shrek asked Donkey, who had made his way to the swamp. Donkey, Sora, Kairi, Donald and Goofy stood around them. Donkey and Kairi had explained everything Shrek, but hadn't told him about Fiona's ogre form.<p>

"Yup!" Donkey clarified, "Now are you gonna get your woman?"

"Yeah!" Shrek cheered.

"Isn't she getting' married right now, though?" Goofy inquired.

"That's right," Shrek frowned. "We'll never get there in time."

"Don't worry, where there's a will there's a way," Donkey smiled. He whistled, "And I've got a Will (1) on a way." Suddenly, Dragon, who Donkey had reconciled with, landed in the swamp with the chandelier and its broken chain around her neck. To fit Donkey's clever word play, Will was on her back, as were Riku and Mickey.

"C'mon, we've got a wedding to crash," Riku smirked

* * *

><p>"Okay, baby. If we need ya, I'll whistle." Donkey sent Dragon away from the church's empty lot. Shrek was already rushing toward the door. "Wait, Shrek you can't go in there yet!"<p>

"Why not?" Shrek stopped and looked at Donkey. "We have to stop the wedding!"

"You gotta wait 'til the preacher says 'Speak now or forever hold your peace', then run in and say "I object!" Donkey explained. The two began to bicker.

"JUST GO!" Sora's group shouted. Shrek rushed through the doors of the church, Donkey and the others in pursuit, just as Fiona and Farquaad leaned in to kiss.

"I object!" Shrek bellowed, grabbing the entire crowd's attention.

"Shrek?" Fiona turned away from Farquaad.

"The ogre?" Farquaad hissed. "Now what does he want?" The crowd clamored as the ogre ran up the aisle.

"Fiona you can't marry him, he just want to be king." The crowd gasped at the accusation. "He's not your true love."

"What do you know about true love?" Fiona asked angrily.

"Well…" Farquaad laughed as Shrek's voice faded.

"Oh, how precious," he announced to the crowd. "It seems that the ogre has fallen in love with the princess." A man holding cue cards changed cards from 'Revered Silence' to 'Laughter'. The crowd burst into laughs as instructed.

"Shrek, is that true?" Fiona asked in a much softer tone.

"Who cares?" Farquaad interrupted. "Fiona, my love, we can live happily ever after, just kiss me!" He puckered his lips. Fiona looked out the church window at the setting sun.

"_By night one way, by day another_," Fiona quoted. She stepped back. "I wanted to show you before…" Fiona began to glow. The crowd watched in awe. The glowing stopped, unveiling the princess's ogre form. The crowd gasped. One woman flat-out fainted. Sora's jaw dropped.

"Well," Shrek stared, "That explains a lot."

"Ugh!" Farquaad shouted in disgust, "It's disgusting! Guards! Heartless! Get them both!"

"No!" Shrek was grabbed by two guards. He pulled his arms free, grabbed the men and hit their heads together. He tried to get to Fiona, but two Armored Knight Heartless grabbed him.

"This marriage is still binding!" Farquaad took a large crown from one of his servants and placed it on his head. "That makes me king!"

"Donkey! Whistle!" Sora told the quadruped as he and his comrades charged the enemies. Donkey did so. Dragon burst through the wall of the church, roaring and causing a panic.

"I've got a dragon here, and I'm not afraid to use it!" Donkey exclaimed. "Don't test me! I'm a Donkey on the edge!" To everyone's surprise, a group of Sprites materialized. They blasted Dragon outside with their powerful beams. Outside the destroyed church wall, Dragon could be seen, trapped in a barrier. A different kind of barrier, made of much thicker darkness, then trapped the crowd of guests. A final one captured Fiona. Only one Heartless was now in the church; the one which had made the other barriers. A small horse-shaped Heartless with the horns of a ram stood by Farquaad. It was of Donkey's size. Farquaad mounted the Heartless. The Shrinker grew to immense size, now as large as Dragon.

"Once I finish you lot, I will rule as a true king!" Lord Farquaad bellowed. "And with my abomination of a _wife_, we will be one step closer to obtaining Kingdom Hearts!"

"What?" Mickey's eyes bulged. "What are you talking about?" The little king burst into evil laughter.

"I guess I could enlighten you before I destroy you." Farquaad said cockily. "You see, the seven pure hearts of the Princesses of Heart come together and form a 'key' to Kingdom Hearts. Without all seven, it cannot be formed. However, this can be overlooked. There are many who possess great light. Special cases, like Fiona, can be used as a substitute. Three beings like her is equivalent to one true Princess of Heart."

"It looks like Maleficent's been doing some research," Riku inferred. The entire group prepared for battle. The duties were split however when another enemy appeared. A Barrier Master was floating beside Dragon in its own protective barrier. Riku, Mickey, Will, and Donkey ran toward the Barrier Master, which dashed into the town, the group in pursuit.

"Now I will finish you ogre!" Farquaad drew his tiny sword as his Heartless steed rushed outside into the lot, now only occupied by the imprisoned Dragon. The remaining party (made up of Sora, Shrek, Donald, Goofy, and Kairi) were knocked back into the lot as well. Sora, Kairi, Donald, and Goofy summoned their weapons. Goofy spun in a circle, hitting the Shrinker's leg with his shield. Kairi cast a Triple Firaga at its face. The creature reeled back. Sora was impressed at the display. He couldn't cast magic in such quick succession outside of Wisdom Form. The brunette leapt at the Shrinker, aiming for Farquaad, but, in an instant, the Heartless shrunk down to the size of a normal horse. Shrek punched the beast a few times.

"Fire!" Kairi tried another Triple Firaga, but the Shrinker burst into a gallop, beating down the party easily.

"Aero!" Donald blasted Farquaad off the Shrinker's back with Aero. With no one to order it, the Shrinker began going berserk. It grew back to its gargantuan size, and tried to trample its foes. Sora Dodge Rolled out of the way. Now behind it, he struck its legs, knocking it down. Farquaad regained composure and remounted his steed. It once again grew to its largest size. Donald and Goofy distracted it, while Kairi supported them with Curaga spells. Shrek and Sora came from behind it. Shrek tossed Sora up at the Shrinker's tail. The brunette grabbed on and climbed onto its back. He proceeded to strike Farquaad off his mount again. With Farquaad stunned, the Heartless was already shrinking to horse-size and preparing to charge, but Sora and Shrek were ready.

"**Shrek!"** Sora called.

"**Bring it on!"** Shrek pummeled the Shrinker with a number of punches. Then Sora hit it with a combo from the Kingdom Key. They repeated the tag-team style strikes several times.

"**I'll be here 'til Thursday."** Shrek grabbed the end of the Kingdom Key and began to swing Sora at the Heartless. The equine Pureblood Heartless evaporated into darkness, destroying the barriers within the church. At the same time, the Barrier Master's destruction was obvious, as Dragon was freed from her barrier. Farquaad screamed as Dragon bent over and swallowed him whole.

"Ew," Kairi commented in disgust. Dragon proceeded to burp up the man's crown.

"That's my girl!" Donkey and the others had returned from their chase. Shrek rushed into the church. Fiona and the church's other occupants were now free.

"Fiona!" Shrek embraced the other ogre. The two stared at each other for a moment. Then they kissed. Fiona began to float, the kiss of true love lifting the curse. She glowed with brilliant light. When the magic stopped, Fiona was shocked to see herself still in her ogre form.

"Huh?" Fiona looked herself over, "But, I'm supposed to be beautiful."

"Fiona," Shrek gazed into her eyes, "You are beautiful." Kairi grabbed one of the cue cards that Farquaad's servant had used. She flipped it over and pulled a pen out seemingly from thin air. She wrote something and showed it to the guests. It read 'Awww'. As instructed, the crowd did so. Sora's pocket and Shrek's heart began to glow. Sora withdrew the reacting card and the process started. He was once again in darkness. He shot a beam of light from the Kingdom Key. It passed through the formed heart and into the card. Sora, back in the church, looked at the card. Shrek was on it, his fists balled. Fiona was in the heart beside him.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Journal Entries<span> **

**New Spell: **Triple Firaga

**Limit:** Sora and Shrek's _Shrek Knock-Out_

**Heartless Introduced: **_Pureblood_: Shrinker (NEW)

_Emblem_: Barrier Master

**Cards Obtained:** Shrek


	25. On the Gummi: Split

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 23: On the Gummi: Split

"I've never seen two worlds so close together," Sora looked at the crossroads the group had reached after their days in DuLoc. Two unfamiliar destinations sat before them. Randomly, Thorn made one of his canine noises. He made it unnecessarily loud though, trying to find sympathy. No one fell for it, however.

"Where should we go first?" Donald asked Mickey. The king began to think. He was soon interrupted.

"We could split up," Riku suggested. "There are enough of us."

"I agree," Will supported, biting into a Fuji apple.

"I guess it's not too risky," Sora decided. Mickey smiled.

"Is everyone okay with that?" The mouse looked around at the several nodding heads. "Then we've got a plan."

"Then we'll split into two groups." Mickey got back on topic. "My team will be made up of three, and Sora's will be four."

"Well, I _am _quite the leader." Sora grinned in a goofy manner; only for Donald to whack him with his staff. "Ow!"

"Don't get cocky!" the duck lisped.

"Anyway," Sora rubbed the bump on his head, "I'll take Riku, Kairi, and Will with me."

"Then I'll take Donald and Goofy," Mickey claimed. "Any complaints?" No one had any problems.

"Which world will we go to, Yer Majesty?" Goofy asked. The king scanned the worlds.

"Camelot," the monarch decided.

"Then we'll head to the Speed Zone," Sora concluded. Mickey nodded in approval. The mouse began to set the Gummi's transporter to the Speed Zone first. A loud, rejecting noise sounded and the cockpit's main display had a message on it. In large red text, it read: "**ERROR: OUT OF RANGE**."

"I thought this might happen," Mickey sighed. He pulled something out of his pocket. Donald and Goofy stared in awe, clearly familiar with the object.

"Your Majesty!" Donald squawked. "Is that what I think it is?"

"That's your old doo-hickey from the old days, ain't it?" Goofy inferred. Mickey smiled as he showed the trinket to everyone. It was a blue and green, star-shaped crystal with a lightning bolt as one of the points. It reminded Sora of a Gummi Block.

"Yup!" The king confirmed his two friends' suspicions. "It's a Star Shard."

"So, can that help us out?" Riku asked.

"Of course," Mickey assured. "This shard is what I based the Gummi ships on. Before that I had to use this to get around." He grinned in nostalgia. "I adjusted this one a bit, though. It can take even an amateur user to any world within its range. This way, won't go taking off to wherever it wants when you don't want it to." Sora was suddenly handed the Star Shard.

"How does this thing work?" the boy inquired.

"It's easy," Mickey continued with his wisdom. "You and whoever you have physical contact with will be sent to the world you focus on. This way, I can take the ship to Camelot, while you guys can zip over there. It's modified to take you back to the ship whenever you want and from wherever you are."

"It sound's simple enough," Sora agreed. His attention span wasn't great, but he could manage to listen carefully.

"So grab on to Sora." Mickey nudged Kairi and Riku toward their friend. Kairi grabbed the brunette's hand, while Riku put his hand on his opposite shoulder. Will stood stoically. Kairi cocked her head to the side. She held her hand out to the black-haired teen.

"Grab on, Will," the redhead addressed the black-clad boy. The boy glanced directly at her. For a moment, her current gesture seemed familiar to him somehow (1). He inched closer, letting her snag his arm.

"Well, now that we're all on board the Sora, let's get moving," Riku joked. Sora made a small, humorous grimace momentarily. He got over it quickly.

"So, we're off to the Speed Zone," Sora announced. He shut his eyes and focused hard. In a flash of light, the group was an orb of light, ricocheting through the Lanes Between. Donald and Goofy waved out one of the windows at the vanishing spark. Mickey then turned his attention to his team's escapade.

* * *

><p><strong><span>Journal Entries:<span>**

**Item Obtained: **Star Shard

**Author's Notes:**

(1) Just wait and see people. This will make sense… eventually.


	26. On Opposite Sides?

Kingdom Hearts III: Essence of the Heart

Chapter 24: On Opposite Sides?

**A/N: This takes place during Sonic Adventure 2. It's just after Tails left to pursue the President's limo**.

* * *

><p>A blue hedgehog stood on the city street, surrounded by police. The officers themselves had not caused the anthropomorphic creature's exasperation. The military force known as G.U.N. had deployed numerous robots to capture him, instead of human officers.<p>

"Sonic the Hedgehog," a G.U.N. agent's voice addressed him through a loud speaker, "You are under arrest. Cease your resistance and surrender." The hedgehog known as Sonic had heard the voice drone on repetitively. Sonic jumped into the air, curled into a ball, and shot himself forward, smashing into a floating drone. He landed, unaffected by the impact, and wiped some sweat from his brow. A cocky grin managed to sneak onto his face.

"Aw, man. I hope the others are alright," Sonic muttered to himself. He prepared to tackle the next robot before him. The hedgehog was surprised when Heartless suddenly materialized. "These things again?" The Heartless' main bodies were a jumble of shapes. The torso was a black sphere, marked with the Heartless emblem. Instead of legs, the bottom of the sphere had a pyramidal shape jutting downward. A smaller sphere, floating above the torso, served as the head, with bright yellow eyes. Its diamond-shaped arms were red and translucent. A G.U.N. robot shot at one of them, barely phasing it. Provoked by the machine, the Jumper Heartless teleported behind the device and cut it in half with one of its laser-bladed arms.

"The target has called in reinforcements. Lethal force has been authorized! Take him out!" The military machines charged in at the Heartless, as well as Sonic.

"Reinforcements? What the heck are you talking about?" Sonic was flabbergasted at the thick-headedness of the military. The black creatures were attacking both the robots _and _him. As the military's robotic force was annihilated, a glint could be seen in the sky. With no more G.U.N. forces left, the entire Heartless horde turned their attention toward Sonic. Before the hedgehog or his enemies could attack, a mass of light dropped like a comet onto the black mass of creatures. Two disoriented figures emerged.

"Wow. That was trippy," Sora breathed heavily. He looked at the only one of his companions who was still with him. "Where did the others go, Riku?" Sora still had the Star Shard in his hand, but Kairi and Will were nowhere to be found. His silver haired friend did not reply. He simply summoned the Way to Dawn.

"Let's worry about these first," Riku told the brunette. Sora finally took notice the scene in front of him and summoned his own Keyblade. They were surrounded completely by Heartless. Riku's green eyes scanned around. Only the single, unfamiliar Emblem Heartless composed the large pack of dark beings. Other than them, only a blue, green-eyed, sneaker-wearing hedgehog was present. He appeared winded, breathing heavily as he evaded attack.

"It looks like you could use some help!" Sora called out to Sonic. The hedgehog hopped away from a Jumper's bladed attack before turning his full attention to the mysterious boy. It was the first time he had seen a human with hair as pointy as his own. Pushing that thought away, he called back to the Keyblade wielder.

"I'm not gonna deny that," Sonic confirmed with a grin. Deciding to act first and find out what was happening later, the Blue Blur dashed into the fray, knocking down a Jumper. Impressed by the hedgehog's speed, Sora rushed in and swung the Kingdom Key at one, but the Heartless vanished. It instantly reappeared behind the teen's head and prepared to cut into him. The brunette managed to duck, just in time to save not only his head, but even his beloved hair style. Riku tried to strike the slippery creatures as well, but only managed to nick one with his blade. They continued to strike out at the Heartless, but they would only land a small fraction of their attacks. Frustrated, Riku fired off several Dark Firaga attacks. The flames had more success in hitting the enemies. With a satisfied smirked Riku alerted Sora.

"Sora, try using magic to hit them instead," Riku called out to his best friend. He released a Thundaga spell from the tip of his Way to Dawn, managing to take out a few of the Heartless. Sora followed Riku's advice and destroyed more Jumpers with Aeroga. The forceful wind gave the two Keyblade wielders, as well as Sonic, an opening to attack.

"You guys have some flashy moves," Sonic complimented the boys, kicking off of a Jumper's head. He then began to pick up speed and circle several of the Heartless. "Check this out!" A blue tornado was formed by merely the speed of the small hedgehog and ripped up its dark victims, "**Sonic Wind**!" Those that weren't destroyed were left dizzily stunned. Taking their opportunity, the two Keyblade wielders mopped up the stunned enemies with a few slashes of their oddly-shaped swords. "That was sweet!" Sonic approached the two strangers. The teenagers' weapons dispersed into light (and a hint of darkness, in Riku's case). "You guys are pretty tough. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm Sora." Sora was quick to befriend the hedgehog, as usual. "This is Riku." He gestured to Riku.

"Hey," Riku said in a dull manner.

"It's nice to meet ya," Sonic grinned. "I'm Sonic, Sonic the Hedgehog."

* * *

><p>A black and red hedgehog stood quietly among the mountain terrain. In his gloved hand was a walkie-talkie. He was seemingly waiting for contact. Following a crackle of static, a feminine voice sounded from the device.<p>

"Shadow. Come in, Shadow." Shadow the Hedgehog held the talkie closer to his mouth.

"What is it Rouge?" he said in a gruff manner.

"The fox-boy seems to have already reached the president (1). He's taking to the air. I can't keep up." Rouge the Bat explained. Shadow gripped the communicator tightly.

"And he still has the Chaos Emerald?" Rouge's silence confirmed his question. "What about that Blue Hedgehog? Was he with him?"

"No, he still seems to be alone," The bat answered. "The doc's little Heartless friends must be keeping him busy." As his ally said this remark, a blue plane flew overhead. A splotch of orange could be roughly seen in the cockpit.

"Fine, then," Shadow sighed in frustration, "He's in my sights. I will retrieve the Chaos Emerald." The hedgehog prepared to take off running, but another sky-high sight caught his attention. A glowing mass of white light was ricocheting around, descending toward the ground at a quick pace. Shadow backed up as the bright anomaly made impact on the rocky mountain ground.

"Did we make it?" a girl's voice rang out from the fading light. Two people emerged: Kairi and Will.

"It would seem so," Will deadpanned. "However, we're two people short." Worry crept into the pit of his redhead ally's stomach.

"Did they land somewhere else?" Kairi took a quick look at their surroundings. Taking notice of Shadow, she approached. "Hey, have you seen two boys around here, one with spikey hair and a taller one with silver hair?" The hedgehog ignored her and moved to go around her. "Hey, wait!" the redhead called to him as he began picking up speed with his hover skates. Uninterested, Shadow continued to skate on, only to be grabbed by the arm. With a grunt, he snapped his head back at the offender, Will. Surprised by the blade-bearing young man, Shadow decided to give him a bit of acknowledgement.

"She asked you a question." Will's hand remained clasped onto the black hedgehog's limb.

"I haven't seen anyone," Shadow growled. "Now release me. I must retrieve the Chaos Emerald."

"Whatever this emerald is, it can wait," Will said to the frustrated hedgehog.

"No, it cannot. I can't let that plane get away with such a powerful item." Shadow's statement piqued the two humans' interest.

"Powerful? Do you mean _dangerously_ powerful?" Kairi asked in an oddly giddy manner. Shadow nodded. "Good. Danger causes trouble."

"What's so great about that?" her ally inquired. Even Shadow couldn't help but be intrigued.

"Well, Sora manages to always find trouble," the female Keyblade bearer answered. "If we follow this guy, I'm sure we'll find Sora and Riku." She clapped her hands together and nodded with certainty. The strange logic was sadly true. She grabbed Shadow's hand and looked down at him. "If we help you get that emerald, will you help us find our friends?" Shadow was about to deny her, but the image of a blonde girl flashed through his blurred memory.

"Fine, but stay out of my way." The Ultimate Life Form grunted. His thoughts lingered to a single name. '_Maria…_'

* * *

><p>Sora and Riku were now fully informed by Sonic of the current situation. Apparently, the Blue Blur's long-time nemesis, Dr. Eggman, had come to control the Heartless. He was also in cahoots with a look-alike of Sonic. The antagonists were after the seven jewels called Chaos Emeralds.<p>

"Alone, the emeralds are pretty powerful, but if Eggman gets all seven together, the whole world will be in danger," Sonic described the gems power. He then looked over at the scrap metal that was once a force of G.U.N. robots. "To make things worse, the military thinks that I've been stirring up all the trouble that fake hedgehog has done. They even think I'm the one working with those Heartless things." The supersonic hedgehog kicked away a pebble that lay on the earth before. The two island boys could only think of a certain evil fairy pulling the strings in this mess.

"This has Maleficent's name written all over it," Riku concluded. Sora nodded in agreement. "We'll help you out, then. We've got to find our friends who came with us. I have a feeling that they'll be looking for Eggman too, since he's in charge of the Heartless."

"Thanks. This way we can kill two birds with one stone. We'll beat Eggman and find your friends. I promise." The blue hedgehog grinned and gave the boys a thumbs-up. The Keyblade wielders smiled back at him.

"So, Sonic, do you know where that doctor guy is?" Sora asked the spiky hero. Sonic shook his head. This was not a good start

* * *

><p><strong>Journal Entries<strong>

**World Introduced: **Speed Zone

**Characters Introduced:** Sonic the Hedgehog; Shadow the Hedgehog; Maria Robotnik; G.U.N.

**Heartless Introduced: _Emblem_:** Jumper (NEW)

**Abilities:** Sonic the Hedgehog's _Sonic Wind_

**Author's Notes**

(1) This is where the story diverges slightly from the original game, due to interference from the Heartless & such


End file.
